In the Silver State, sports betting menus are expanding week by week. This week, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has given the green light for sportsbooks to provide bets on the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series.
The sanction permits all authorized sportsbooks in Nevada to place and accept bets on the winner and driver matchups for the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. At present, Circa Sports and William Hill are the only sportsbooks accepting bets on this sports event.
This will be the third event in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The upcoming race is scheduled for Sunday, April 5, at 1 PM EST at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. The event will be broadcasted on both FOX and FS1, with the usual announcing team that covers traditional NASCAR races for the network.
The season’s first race on Fox drew just under one million viewers. The following race, which was held last week, established a new viewership record for esports on television, attracting 1.3 million viewers. Timmy Hill emerged as the winner of this race, which was held at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway. On the William Hill sports betting app, Hill was considered the 4-1 favorite to clinch the victory at the upcoming race at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway.
eNASCAR betting
Hill was initially the only favorite at William Hill. Early betting on Saturday afternoon shifted William Byron’s odds from 7-1 to 4-1. At Circa Sports, Byron is the top pick with odds of 3-1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a highly popular NASCAR driver, is the third favorite at William Hill with 7-1 odds. His odds at Circa Sports are +850 (8.5-1).
William Hill offers futures wagering involving all drivers in the event, along with eight head-to-head matchups, including a face-off between brothers Kyle Busch (-135) and Kurt Busch. Additionally, Circa Sports provides an increased number of matchups and the option to place Yes or No bets on winning the event.
William Hill was the first sportsbook in Nevada to provide odds for this weekend’s race. Nick Bogdanovich, the U.S. Director of Trading at William Hill, expressed his delight at being able to introduce eNASCAR and other esports events to their betting options amidst the current sports climate.
He said, “The pioneer of posting legal esports odds in the U.S was William Hill back in 2016, and we are striving to provide more games upon approval. Stay tuned – we’re updating with new esports events daily.”
The first eNASCAR race approved for betting was the virtual race in Bristol, TN, but this was not the intended plan. Circa Sports had believed they received approval to offer bets on the inaugural race of the season back in March. However, their proposal was not approved by the gaming control board.
What is the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series?
Nevada sportsbooks are exploring new betting possibilities as US professional sports leagues have halted or terminated seasons to aid in curbing the spread of the coronavirus. The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series offers a secure avenue for professional auto racing to provide competition without posing any risk.
NASCAR, iRacing, and FOX Sports have collaborated to launch the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. This series, spanning multiple weeks, will feature NASCAR drivers competing in a virtual arena on the iRacing simulation platform. Renowned NASCAR drivers including Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Clint Bowyer will participate every Sunday, racing virtual NASCAR Cup Series cars on digital versions of NASCAR’s most famous tracks.
Here’s a summary of the Pro Invitational Series race from last week, which occurred at the virtual Texas racetrack.
