After a long wait, sports betting was finally brought into action in North Carolina earlier this month. With positive responses hitting the roof since NASCAR’s best have weighed in on the matter with their takes. The latest to do so is the 2-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. He spoke to reporters in Richmond ahead of the Cup Series race on Sunday and detailed his thoughts.
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“I only see it as being positive for our sport and for the world in general,” Kyle Busch said. “The opportunity for people to go out there and place bets on their favorite drivers or their favorite scenarios throughout the week… I think it’s really awesome. I think it brings more attention to our sport.”
“I think it brings more attention to driver names and stuff like that. So the more notoriety, the better.”
Online sports betting was officially launched in North Carolina on March 11. The Mecca of North American Motorsports is the 30th state to legalize sports betting. Sportsbooks in the United States brought over $10 billion in revenue last year.
With a major sports hub like North Carolina on the list, the numbers ought to skyrocket further in 2024. Estimates suggest that the state could singularly bring in over $600 million.
Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin offer their opinions on sports betting
Joey Logano’s thoughts on betting are largely similar to that of Busch. He told the Austin American Statesman that betting will help the sport grow as long as it is done responsibly. “First, you’ve got to be conscious of your decisions and the effects on your life,” he said.
“If you do it responsibly, it helps engagement in our sport. People want to watch more when they have something riding on the outcome.”
When it comes to Denny Hamlin, he told reporters in his pre-race interview at Richmond that betting was a method to have fans pay attention to a particular sport even when their favorite team wasn’t in on the game. Hamlin believed that betting has helped many other sports in their own right and hoped that it could be the same way for NASCAR as well.
