Vegas Sports and Information Network’s (VSiN) Racers Odds, the Las Vegas-based network’s NASCAR-oriented wagering show, will now be shown directly on NASCAR.com, providing race fans with betting lines and head-to-head match ups ahead of each week’s race.
The deal was announced Tuesday by VSiN, which produces sports gambling-oriented programming from studios at the South Point Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, NASCAR and Performance Racing Network (PRN), one of two NASCAR licensed multi-broadcast radio networks.
PRN’s Jeff Hammond (l) and John Roberts
As part of the partnership, VSiN’s sports betting experts Jeff Cogliandro and Steve Makinen will team up with PRN’s NASCAR analysts Jeff Hammond and John Roberts to provide news and insights. Racers Odds is a 60-minute show leading into the day’s race.
The partnership kicks off this weekend in Las Vegas with coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The weekend culminates with the South Point 400 on Sunday.
VSiN CEO Brian Musburger said NASCAR fans are a group that is quickly flocking to the gaming space as the industry continues to grow across the country.
“NASCAR truly understands the impact sports betting will have on fan engagement and has embraced it,” Musburger said. “We’re excited to partner with NASCAR and PRN to deliver credible sports betting information. With a passionate fan base, no sport is better positioned to capitalize on legal sports betting than NASCAR.”
Scott Warfield, NASCAR managing director of gaming, said the partnership provides the sport with another channel to educate its fan base on regulated sports betting and strengthen fan engagement.
“Elevating NASCAR gaming content is a critical area of focus for us, and PRN and VSiN are perfectly positioned to help us accomplish that goal during the NASCAR Playoffs,” Warfield said.
PRN General Manager agreed the legalization of sports betting 16 ago by the U.S. Supreme Court opened a new vehicle to engage with NASCAR fans.
“We knew right away that we not only wanted to be in this space, but that we wanted to be the first to take the lead in what will be a bright and exciting new chapter for NASCAR,” Horn said. “We took our decades of knowledge in quality motor sports programming and went straight to the leaders in sports betting news, analysis and data at VSiN.”
VSiN has expanded beyond the studio adjacent to the South Point sportsbook that it launched three years ago. The network offers 18 hours of original live programming through a dedicated SiriusXM Radio channel and the VSiN website.
VSiN is also planning a second studio in Las Vegas, at the new downtown Circa Resort Casino, which is expected to open in 2020.
The network has moved beyond its original platform. In March, NESN, the New England Sports Network, began airing Follow the Money, a Monday-through-Friday three-hour show hosted by Mitch Moss and Paul Howard. NESN, which is co-owned by the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins, is delivered to more than 4 million homes throughout New England.
On July 1, New York’s MSG Network also picked up Follow the Money and began broadcasting the program in New York City, as well as in other parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
