Las Vegas Grand Prix shatters F1 betting records at sportsbooks

The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix shattered betting records for a Formula One race at BetMGM and STN Sports and surpassed the number of tickets and amount of money wagered on last year’s race at Caesars Sportsbook.

“That’s three straight years we’ve seen the handle go up on the overall race,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “The action was great. There was a lot of late push (Saturday). You always see an uptick in handle in any events here and that held true for Formula One.”

BetMGM also has set F1 records in all three years the race has been on the Strip. It reported 20 percent more tickets and 51 percent more money than was wagered on last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. The book also took more than three times as many tickets and more than four times as much money on Saturday night’s race than an average F1 race this season.

Caesars saw a 30 percent increase in wagers compared to last year.

“Given Caesars/William Hill offered more than 100 markets on the event, including same game parlays, it was no surprise how popular the race was with Vegas enthusiasts,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said via email. “We were proud to offer the biggest depth of product and choice for bettors in our home state, which led to increased handle and wagers.”

Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix for the second time in three years after the Red Bull driver won the inaugural F1 race on the Strip in 2023. Verstappen went off as the +140 second choice at the Westgate SuperBook behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, the -120 favorite after winning the pole.

Norris finished second and Mercedes driver George Russell took third. But Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri were disqualified in the hours after the race for a rear skid plate violation, elevating Russell to second and his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli to third.

Verstappen’s victory also resulted in a win for sportsbooks.

“Usually with those races they bet on all the long shots, so you’re probably going to be OK as long as one of the favorites wins,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “We picked up a few bucks on Verstappen.”

The handle on the race was down at the Westgate.

“Each year, it’s declined from the previous year. It’s not much of a betting sport, at least not for us,” Murray said. “Usually three guys can realistically win. It’s not as good as betting on NASCAR races, where there’s a lot more opportunity for different people to win a race.

“One of the other reasons is this is arguably as busy a time of year as any with college basketball and college football intersecting and the NFL, NBA, NHL and UFC. There’s just so much vying for the betting dollar.”

STN Sports reported a win on the race, which was dominated by Verstappen.

“Everybody was taking chances on the longer shots,” Esposito said.

Caesars took multiple five-figure wagers on the race.

“The big winners were those who wagered on Max Verstappen +180 for fastest lap, which customers had to wait until the final laps for him to achieve,” Mucklow said, “along with a rather fortunate wager on, ‘Both Mercedes drivers to be on the podium,’ paying 35-1 with a customer having over $100 on the selection.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.