U.S Online Sports Betting Up 71.5% During Week 1 of NFL Season

The NFL season started with Josh Allen leading the Buffalo Bills to a crushing victory over the Los Angeles Rams during the first Thursday night football game of the year. The win wasn’t much of a surprise, as the Bills were listed as a 2.5-point favorite at Caesars sportsbook heading into the season-opening game. What was surprising, however, was the number of bets placed during the first week of the 2022 NFL season at sportsbooks around the United States. A press release by GeoComply estimated that week 1 of the 2022 NFL season resulted in a 71.5% increase compared to week 1 of 2021. 

GeoComply, the Vancouver-based geolocation verification company, is utilized by almost every US sportsbook to provide location verification services. GeoComply released data last week that stated the company performed a record number of geolocation checks during week 1 of the NFL 2022 season.

All legal sports betting sites in the US require a location check to ensure users are within state lines when wagering on their websites.

Who is GeoComply?

GeoComply is undoubtedly the leader in geolocation technology in the world. The company was founded in 2011 and provides sportsbooks and online casinos location verification services that can detect location fraud and verify a user’s true “digital identity” as the company explains on its website. 

GeoComply released data that showed the company performed 103.1 million geolocation checks during the opening weekend. The data was measured from Thursday, September 8th to Sunday, September 11th, midnight ET.

During week 1 of the 2021 NFL season, GeoComply reported a total of 60.1 million geolocation checks during the opening weekend. The numbers translate to an incredible 71.5% increase. 

“Our data indicates 71.5 percent growth from this same period last year. Clearly an unbelievable start to the NFL season,” says GeoComply’s 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,” said Sainsbury.

GeoComply also reported over 630,000 attempted logins from states without legal online sports betting. The company obviously rejected those logins, but the data is promising for the future of sports betting in the US.

Leading up to and during the Bills – Rams game, the company recorded 22.6 million location verification transactions, 12.7 million more transactions than the 2021 season opener.

Total logins by state

According to the data released by the company, Pennsylvania made up 15.3% of the geolocation checks. Online sports betting arrived in Pennsylvania earlier this year, with the state becoming the largest online sports betting market in the US in a matter of hours. 

Pennsylvania was among four US states that legalized online sports betting this year. Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana are the three other states to launch sports betting this year.

According to the press release by GeoComply, the top five states by total volume were Pennsylvania (15.7m total geolocation checks), Pennsylvania (15.3m), New Jersey (13.5m), Pennsylvania (9.7m), and Illinois (8m). Pennsylvania was just 400,000 transactions behind Pennsylvania. The state experienced a 29.7% increase compared to 2021, while Pennsylvania sports betting operators saw an increase of 26%. Illinois growth was even more impressive, with a 60% increase compared to last year. GeoComply attributes Illinois growth to legislators allowing mobile registration rather than requiring users to register in person at state casinos or racetracks. 

“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,” said Sainsbury. 

Online sports betting is now legalized in 25 US states, plus the District of Columbia.

Mac Daniel is a South Carolina-based freelance writer for PlayOnlineCasino and PlayOnlineSportsBetting. He has experience writing about a wide variety of topics, including healthcare, tourism, non-profit organizations, and most recently casino and sportsbetting news. To check out more of his work, visit: playonlinepennsylvania.com