A new report from GeoComply has given both scope and context to just how many Americans were wagering during the first week of NFL action.
The geolocation firm issued a report entitled From the Sidelines to the Mainstream with highlights from Sept. 3 to Sept. 10 along with how those numbers compare to last year.
Over the course of the week, GeoComply processed over 242 million geolocation checks, which was a massive 56% uptick from 2022, which logged 103 million checks.
The start of the 2022 NFL season marked the first time New Yorkers were able to kick off the season with wagering, which propelled it to the top of the list in terms of states by betting volume.
For the 2023 season, there are three new big markets propelling growth. GeoComply provided a breakdown of how each of the new states fared in Week 1:
Collectively, the three states accounted for 253,000 new accounts of the 1.1 million total tracked by GeoComply. Ohio was particularly active, as indicated by this video:
“Consumer awareness around the security and fairness of legal online betting platforms has played a pivotal role in the responsible growth of the industry. While the increase in our transaction volume emphasizes the appetite for regulated online sports betting, our data also accentuates an urgent call to action. States without regulated online sports betting should get off the legalization sidelines and unlock their ability to protect consumers and generate significant tax revenue,” said GeoComply CEO Anna Sainsbury.
The first-quarter touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown on Thursday night sparked a huge flurry of activity. When the underdog Lions took the early lead, GeoComply processed an impressive 4,200 transactions per second as in-game wagers flooded in.
Unless a major state legalizes sports betting in 2024, don’t expect a similar bump in transactions next year. With Kentucky launching later this month and only Vermont, North Carolina, and Maine waiting to come online, there will not be a large new swath of bettors getting their first exposure to the regulated betting market.
