NASCAR Continues To Run Under Caution When It Comes To Prediction Markets

Apr 27th, 2026 1:31 PM EDT

(Imagn)

NEW YORK - Steve O'Donnell ascended to NASCAR's throne last week. After 30 years in the sport, he's the first person not named "France" to serve as the racing body's CEO. O'Donnell remains open to multiple roads not taken in NASCAR, including prediction markets.

Could we see a "Polymarket 500" at Daytona International Speedway someday?

"Never say never," O'Donnell told a group of Associated Press Sports Editors here Monday in response to a question from Bookies.com. "Our stance right now is kind of observe, see what's happening, but there's no imminent thing happening from the league."

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NASCAR runs three-wide across the gaming space. The series and its partner drivers and owners have ties to the best betting sites, casino play, and prediction markets. The latter exists via a partnership between Robinhood and 23XI Racing.

Prediction market operators such as Kalshi, Polymarket and Robinhood remain embroiled in legal proceedings in multiple state and federal courts. At times, up to 90% of their trading volumes come through sports-event contracts.

"There's a lot of regulatory issues in different states. The teams and drivers are able to do that. We've got integrity partnerships to make sure that we're staying above board. It's a challenge right now. Our stance with prediction markets is to observe, see what's happening, but there's no imminent thing happening from the league," O'Donnell said.

Hard Rock Bet Daytona 500 — The Hard Rock Bet Fanzone remains a fixture at Daytona International Speedway. (Bill Speros/Bookies)

NASCAR's ties with NASCAR betting sites (and prediction markets) remain on vivid display this season. At the Daytona 500, fans visited the Hard Rock Bet Fanzone located next to the Daytona International Speedway infield. Tyler Reddick's No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota took the checkered flag after a zany final lap. Reddick owns 5 checkered flags this season for the 23XI Racing Team. Renowned gambler and NBA GOAT Michael Jordan is a co-owner of 23XI. The circuit rides with South Point Casino as a race sponsor in Las Vegas.

However, the dual-currency model used by Chumba and other so-called "sweepstakes" casinos remains illegal in several states. Those include New York and California, where NACAR races a combined three times this season.

"It's a challenge. It's emerging quickly. But it depends on the state you race in. Obviously, we're going to go and make sure that we have everything in place if we're racing in a particular state that won't allow certain things that may affect sponsorships," O'Donnell said. "Mexico City is a good example of what's allowed on a car. We had to make some changes to what we could and couldn't do. We can assume that we're going to plop into a new market. Let's say every car was sponsored by one of those entities and was banned; it's probably not a market we should explore, or at least we should get ahead of it. We'll test the waters. But the biggest thing for us is that fans want to know that what's happening on the racetrack is 100% legitimate. We have everything in place to monitor that every day. We know sports betting's huge, but we've got to do that in a smart way as we look at the future."

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NASCAR Works Within Framework As License Holder

Because NASCAR holds sports betting licenses in two states, the racing body does not want to risk regulators' ire by working in tandem with prediction markets or other gaming operators as a marketing partner. But the integrity-first approach could allow it to stay on the lead lap, without risking "The Big One" with state governing bodies.

In February, NASCAR Director of Sports Betting Joseph Solosky told Bookies.com ahead of the Daytona 500 that NASCAR is considering an "integrity-based" partnership with prediction market operators.

"We are not against prediction markets in terms of our teams. We've encouraged our teams and drivers to look at the space," Solosky said. "As a sport, the risk that presents itself to us with our licenses in states makes it untenable for us to do a deal. The NHL doesn't face the same risk we do because it's their clubs that hold the (sports betting) licenses. So the NHL itself doesn't have the license, so they're not getting punished or getting any sort of licenses revoked if they do a deal."

The NHL, MLB, MLS and UFC/TKO have prediction market partnership deals in place.

Any deal would focus on the prediction markets agreeing to integrity monitoring and restrictions on NASCAR-related markets, similar to the ones NASCAR uses in the sports betting space. Any partnership concerning NASCAR and prediction markets would not include a marketing component. NASCAR is a sports betting licensee in Arizona, partnering with theScore Bet and in North Carolina, partnering with DraftKings.

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NASCAR Continues To Run Under Caution When It Comes To Prediction Markets

Sports Betting, iGaming, Prediction Markets Share Track Space

NASCAR Works Within Framework As License Holder

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