Since Massachusetts introduced online sports betting in March, the industry has generated some $9.1 million in legal wagers. But none of them came from the almost 187,000 bettors outside state lines who attempted to place wagers in the new market.
GeoComply, which provides geolocation services to keep illegal bettors out, reported the numbers to PlayMa.com, a website that reports on gaming in the Bay State.
According to Gaming Today, a total of 186,872 accounts attempted more than 1.4 million transactions from outside the state, but were turned back based on their location. A number of those bets came from Maine (27,000 tries by more than 4,400 players) and Vermont (more than 16,000 tries by about 3,000 players). Both states, which border Massachusetts, don’t yet have legal sports betting, though sports betting has been legalized in Maine and Vermont lawmakers are considering a sports betting bill.
A total of 3,441 bettors—from Maine and Vermont, as well as Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York—traveled to Massachusetts to place legal bets. Rhode Island and New Hampshire both have legal sports betting, but in each case players are limited to a single sportsbook app, operated by William Hill, IGT and the Rhode Island Lottery.
DraftKings is the only online sportsbook in New Hampshire. Connecticut has a trio of online sportsbooks: DraftKings, FanDuel and SugarHouse. But Massachusetts has twice that, with DraftKings, FanDuel BetMGM, Caesars, Barstool and WynnBET.
According to iGamingNet, the big guns—FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars—make up more than 85 percent of handle in the U.S.
GeoComply reported that it blocked 5,000 illicit transactions in the first weekend of Massachusetts sports betting, when the state was among the Top 5 busiest sports betting markets in the country.
