GeoComply location checks surge 25% for Super Bowl LVII
100 million geolocation checks took place over Saturday and Sunday with 100,000 in and around State Farm Stadium
GeoComply, a cybersecurity solutions provider, reported it conducted 100 million location checks across 23 US states and the District of Columbia over the Super Bowl weekend.
Held in Arizona, the final, won by the Kansas City Chiefs, was the first Super Bowl to take place in a state where online sports betting is legalised.
GeoComply, which processes geolocation checks to verify online sports bettors’ locations, revealed a 32% increase in the number of accounts it checked year on year, registering 7.4 million last weekend.
While New York was the busiest state with 13.9 million checks, 100,000 checks were recorded in and around State Farm Stadium, Arizona, where the game took place.
Betting activity was bolstered by the fact that the home states of the playoff teams, Philadelphia Eagles (Pennsylvania) and Kansas City Chiefs, also offer legalised sports wagering.
Kansas launched online sports betting in September 2022, but the Kansas City Chiefs’ stadium – and many of its fans – are located in Missouri, where sports betting is not yet legal.
Over Super Bowl weekend, GeoComply recorded 2.2 million legal sports betting geolocation transactions in Kansas while Missourians attempted to access legal sportsbooks in other states a quarter-of-a-million times and were blocked from betting.
GeoComply co-founder and CEO Anna Sainsbury commented: “Super Bowl LVII was a record-breaking event. GeoComply data reveals that Americans’ interest in legally betting on the Super Bowl has never been higher. It also showed that many fans at State Farm Stadium embraced their newfound ability to bet while watching the game in person.”
Recently regulated Ohio featured in second place of the states with most geolocation checks (12.6 million), after legalised sports betting was welcomed on 1 January 2023. Rounding off the top five was Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan.
Sainsbury added: “GeoComply’s unprecedented transaction figures from this Super Bowl weekend reflect the growth of legal online sports betting. This tightly regulated industry emphasises consumer protection, transparency, and accountability.
“Every state that regulates sports betting is a blow to the predatory black market that operates in the shadows, providing zero safeguards for bettors and no economic benefit to the local community.”