United States Grand Prix Betting Rules Explained as Texas Remains Locked Out

Formula 1 runs three races in the United States this season, and each one sits under a different betting rulebook. The US Grand Prix in Austin is the only one where fans cannot legally place a bet on the race.

The Circuit of the Americas hosts the United States Grand Prix from October 23 to 25.^[1] Las Vegas operates in Nevada's long-established, fully regulated market. Miami sits under Florida's tribal gaming compact. Texas has no legal sportsbooks at all.

That gap matters more this year. In April, F1 named FanDuel its first official betting operator in the US.^[2] Yet FanDuel's sportsbook cannot take a single wager in the state hosting the country's longest-running F1 race. 

Here is how the three races compare, and what Texas leaves on the table.

Las Vegas: the race built for betting

Las Vegas is the one US race where betting is part of the spectacle. Each edition since 2023 has set new F1 betting records for Nevada's sportsbooks.

At the inaugural race in 2023, Caesars set a company record for handle on any motorsports event and said it took three times the Daytona 500's numbers. BetMGM tripled the number of bets it had taken on any previous F1 race.^[3] Handle doubled again in 2024, and BetMGM's trading manager said retail handle that year was easily 30 times larger than for any other F1 race.^[4]

The growth held in 2025. BetMGM said the race drew 51% more handle than 2024, calling it by far the most-bet F1 event it has ever taken. The effect also reaches beyond Nevada. DraftKings, which has no Nevada licence, said the 2023 race was the most-wagered F1 race in its history by both handle and bet count.^[5]

Miami: one app, one operator

Miami fans can bet on their race legally, but only through one operator. Florida's 2021 compact with the Seminole Tribe gives Hard Rock Bet exclusive mobile sports betting rights through 2051.^[6]

The model is a "hub-and-spoke" setup. Bettors can wager from anywhere in Florida, but every bet is processed on servers on Seminole tribal land. Hard Rock Bet relaunched statewide on December 7, 2023. The race itself is held at Hard Rock Stadium, so the only legal sportsbook in the state shares a name with the venue.

That leaves F1's own US partner on the sidelines. FanDuel's deal was announced in the week of this year's Miami Grand Prix.^[7] But under the compact, FanDuel's sportsbook cannot take bets in Florida, so it is shut out of two of F1's three US host states.

Austin: a billion-dollar weekend with no betting tax

The US Grand Prix is a major earner for Texas, but none of that money comes from regulated wagering. Over its first decade, the race generated more than $7 billion in local economic impact. The 2023 edition alone brought an estimated $1 billion in spending and $38 million in state tax receipts. The race is contracted to stay at COTA through 2034.

Texas still has no regulator, no tax rate and no licensed sportsbooks. 

Legalization would need a constitutional amendment, passed by a two-thirds vote in both chambers and then approved in a statewide referendum. The Legislature meets only in odd-numbered years, so nothing could change in 2026.

The 2027 session is the next chance, but expectations are low. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in December 2025 that he is “simply not there yet” on casinos and sports betting. Some analysts place realistic legalization closer to 2029, after his term ends.

Meanwhile, the money moves elsewhere. Louisiana and Arkansas both offer legal sports betting, and Texans in border areas sometimes cross the state line to bet.

The Texas workaround: prediction markets

Texans who want a stake in the race have one legal route: federally regulated prediction markets. Platforms such as Kalshi, Polymarket US and FanDuel Predicts operate in Texas under CFTC oversight rather than state gambling law. That means F1's official US betting partner may reach Austin's fans through its prediction product, not its sportsbook.

Texas is also central to that market's growth. Research from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming found that 43% of sports event contract activity came from just two states, Texas and California.^[8]

The state is now looking at that loophole. In March, Patrick directed the Senate State Affairs Committee to study prediction markets.^[9] At a hearing in Austin in September, the American Gaming Association urged Texas to sue the platforms, while Kalshi warned that restrictions would push users offshore.