The addition of New York to legal sports betting states was certainly going to grow the industry, but the question was just how much it would. GeoComply is providing some clearer answers to this question after the first week of NFL action is in the books.
US betting geolocations up 71.5% YoY
New data from GeoComply reveals it is making a massive impact already. The total number of geolocation checks from Thursday through Sunday jumped from 60.1 million in to 103.1 million this past weekend, an uptick of 71.5% compared to last year. The data is an accurate representation of the entire marketplace given that nearly every operator in every regulated market works with the company on geolocation and identity verification.
“Our data indicates 71.5% growth from this same period last year. Clearly an unbelievable start to the NFL season,” said GeoComply CEO Anna Sainsbury. “The growth of legal betting suggests that Americans are ditching offshore sportsbooks for regulated options in their home states. This is exactly the outcome legislators and regulators looked to achieve through legalization as they now protect consumers and increase tax revenues.”
GeoComply took to Twitter in the past few days with interesting insights from NFL’s return, including nuggets like this:
New York already GeoComply’s most active state
Despite being one of the newest markets in the country, GeoComply reported the Empire State generated 15.3% of all GeoComply transactions, making it the biggest market in the country by volume. Here’s a look at how the top ten broke down:
Pennsylvania, which launched online sports betting in early 2019, is right behind New York when it comes to betting volume, while New Jersey rounded out the top three. Note that, while Nevada often ranks in the top five states for betting, it failed to rank in the top ten for online betting.
Maturing US industry cutting down on customer friction
Illinois numbers put it at sixth on the list, but it is a huge uptick from last year when in-person registration still hampered activity in the state. According to GeoComply, the state jumped 60% in activity from this time in 2021 with 8 million geolocations.
Opening weekend is usually a time for tons of transactions and, unfortunately, the occasional outage. However, most of the weekend went by with minimal hiccups, which is perhaps a sign of the industry’s growing maturity in the US.
“GeoComply has worked hand in glove with our customers over the offseason to ensure a seamless and, most importantly, safe start to the NFL season. Whether it’s confirming location, verifying identities, or detecting and thwarting possible fraud, our technology solutions are leading the way to support the regulated online gaming environment,” added Sainsbury.
