Surge in NFL Betting for Season Opener
The eagerly-anticipated NFL campaign is underway in what will be the start of a hectic few months for the US online betting industry.
With more and more US states now fully regulated for online sports betting, it means that this season could well be a record in terms of both revenue and participation.
Indeed, the opening fixture this time around exceeded that of last year by 77 per cent from a numbers perspective, with 22.6 million bets placed, while previously, this figure was 12.7 million, according to figures released by Geo Comply.
This was recorded via geo-location technology that was able to identify the places where bets were staked from. The way that the software works is that it recorded the number of times that a betting firm was called upon to verify a customer’s location.
It appears that this is a firm indicator that this could be the biggest and most impactful season yet.
Promising Signs for the US Market
Such an uplift certainly represents an encouraging long-term outlook for the industry in the US. One week prior to the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams, live location checks in the Buffalo area were at 86,400, while the night of the game, this rocketed to 267,600.
Because states require a person to be located within their borders to bet online, geo-location technology uses a combination of cellular data plus software and hardware databases in order to find out where each phone, laptop or tablet was located at the time the bet was placed.
Since 2018, the number of geo-location transactions in the industry has increased by 550 per cent, with more and more states approving online gambling and sports betting over the last few years.
One of the latest to do so, New York, became the largest online sports betting market in the country almost overnight when these services were launched at the end of January this year, which saw millions of close-season NFL bets.
Now with a full season ahead of it, this promises to be record-breaking for New York, with customers now able to bet on each sport for a full season.
Other markets, such as Michigan, showed maturity last year, recording irrepressible figures, while there is still one that could eclipse them all. A vote is scheduled in November to open up the online sports betting market in California
Which US Betting Market Will Dominate 2022/23?
It may seem a forgone conclusion, though the fact is that it could be an intriguing straight shootout if things go as some state legislators would like. No doubt, New York has shown the potential it has, and with over six different sports franchises across each of the major sports, there is also a lot of interest.
California, as touched upon, being the most populous state in the union, could easily overtake New York if it gets a favourable decision. There are also over 10 major sports franchises in the state, spanning all the way up from San Diego to Sacramento, indicating that this could generate substantial interest.
As far as sports popularity in the US goes, American football and basketball appear to have led the way for the last couple of decades, especially the latter, while baseball is never too far behind when considering the popularity of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
For now, the industry as a whole can take encouragement from the figures that were posted for the opening game of the NFL, with this likely to be beaten many times over the course of the next few months.
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