GeoComply makes sure bettors are where they say they are when they place a bet. If you’re supposed to be in New Jersey, GeoComply knows if you are in Pennsylvania. As a side log, GeoComply has records on how many transactions were placed.
From September 3 to 10, the company recorded 242.3 million geolocation transactions from U.S. mobile sportsbook customers, which happened to be the first NFL week.
The number signifies a 56 percent gain over the same time period last year. There was also a rash of new accounts, 1.1 million in fact, a jump of 40 percent.
For a closer look, GeoComply recorded 4,200 transactions a second after the Detroit Lions took a 7-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first game of the NFL season.
Ohio marked 133,000 new mobile accounts September 3 to 10, while Massachusetts launched 59,000. 61,000 in Maryland. Both states began sports betting this year.
GeoComply found that customers in several states without legal mobile sportsbooks accessed accounts, perhaps with the goal of using a regulated sports betting platform.
There were over 500,000 geolocation checks in Missouri during the first with only 38,000 active accounts in the state.
Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, and Mississippi all had at least 50,000 geolocation transactions, according to Sports Handle.
“While the increase in our transaction volume emphasizes the appetite for regulated online sports betting, our data also accentuates an urgent call to action,” GeoComply co-founder and CEO Anna Sainsbury said in a press release. “States without regulated online sports betting should get off the legalization sidelines and unlock their ability to protect consumers and generate significant tax revenue.”
GeoComply estimates that each of those six states left at least $24 million of annual tax revenue behind by not having legalized mobile sportsbooks.
And by the way, GeoComply is not the only way we know the NFL is popular.
JMP Securities reported more than 972,000 downloads of sportsbook apps during that time period.
That number was 15 percent higher than 2022’s for the same week. It trailed only the week leading up to the 2022 Super Bowl leadup between the Rams and the Bengals.
The last day of the NFL week on Monday, recorded a 77 percent year-over-year gain. In terms of raw number of downloads, Sunday led the way, with Saturday trailing close behind.
FanDuel (34 percent) and DraftKings (33 percent) represented the bulk of new downloads, but the third-place finisher was a combination of Fanatics and its newly acquired PointsBet. Together they had a market share of 12 percent, followed by BetMGM at 11 percent, Caesars and bet365 at 3 percent each, Barstool Sportsbook at 2 percent, BetRivers at 1 percent and Bally Bet at 0.1 percent.