Online betting activity skyrocketed in the US at the start of the new NFL season, according to the latest data from geolocation specialist GeoComply.

The supplier’s geolocation software reached a new record of 103.1m, up from 60.1m on the opening NFL weekend of 2021, the company revealed. A geolocation ping is registered every time a betting transaction is made.

Most of the legal US sports betting industry uses GeoComply products to verify customers locations.

GeoComply CEO Anne Sainsbury commented: “Our data indicates 71.5% growth from this same period last year. Clearly an unbelievable start to the NFL season. 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 legalisation as they now protect consumers and increase tax revenues,” she added.

GeoComply CEO Anne Sainsbury: “The growth of legal betting suggests that Americans are ditching offshore sportsbooks for regulated options in their home states.”

The addition of regulated wagering in Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana and New York since last year’s opening day takes the number of live, regulated online sports betting states to 25, plus the District of Columbia.

Data for the NFL opening weekend analysis was collected from 8 September through to 11 September.

With 15.7m geo checks, New York shot straight to number one in GeoComply’s list of states with the highest betting transaction volume.

“New York continues its reign as ‘King of the Hill’ with 15.3% market share for US betting, but we are also seeing strong growth across the country,” said Sainsbury.

Pennsylvania’s total geolocation checks rose 29.7% to 15.3m from 11.8m last year. It moved up to second place in the US market, with a 14.8% market share and trailed New York by just 400,000 transactions.

Illinois jumped 60%, up from five million in 2021 to eight million this weekend after legislators allowed mobile registration instead of in-person registration at the state’s casinos and tracks, which was previously required. New Jersey and Michigan complete the top five.

GeoComply’s solutions are installed on over 400m devices and analyse over nine billion transactions a year.

Beyond iGaming, the company provides geolocation fraud detection solutions for streaming video broadcasters and the online banking, payments and cryptocurrency industries.

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