Data from GeoComply, a Canadian-based cybersecurity and fraud prevention firm, has indicated that NFL fans are placing bets from inside stadiums at record levels thus far this season.
According to the company’s latest report, multiple games this season have registered more than 60,000 location checks at the stadium itself, including 66,000 checks at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix during the September 11 game between the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs, as well as a whopping 76,400 checks at Lincoln Financial Field for the September 19 Monday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings.
So far this year, a total of nine legal sports betting states have hosted NFL games, those being New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Louisiana, Colorado, Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
The data from the recent report was taken from inside stadiums as well as immediate surrounding areas such as parking lots and other tailgating areas. For each game, GeoComply began tracking location checks for a period of seven hours, starting three hours before kickoff and running until for an additional four hours after that.
CEO Anna Sainsbury said in a statement that the data represents “a clear win for states that choose to regulate sports betting.” According to the company, more than 10 percent of in-person attendees in regulated states thus far have engaged with licensed sportsbooks.
“This wealth of data is so important for lawmakers and sports leagues to determine sports betting policies in their states and at their stadiums,” she added.
Although the season is still very young and the idea of wagering while at the game itself is still relatively foreign to some, the report has shown that stadiums are quickly becoming betting hubs in the cities they are located.
In one instance, the September 18 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh accounted for just under 30 percent of all sports betting activity throughout the entire city during the seven-hour time window.
