Super Bowl LIX weekend secures rise in regulated sports betting activity

Imago

GeoComply has revealed a 14% year-on-year increase in active bookmaker accounts across Super Bowl LIX weekend, with even greater gains in states that have taken action against illicit sports betting operators. 

On Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, President Donald Trump and pop superstar Taylor Swift were in attendance as the Philadelphia Eagles romped to a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. 

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The Chiefs were on course for an unprecedented third successive title, but they could not rise to the occasion as the Eagles soared. 

GeoComply is a Vancouver-based company that provides software solutions for sports betting providers to detect VPN fraud. Essentially, the technology uses over 820 data points to ensure a person is situated in a location where the gambling activity is legal in order to place the bet. 

Within the significant spike of active player accounts, the company press release detailed how states that pursued action against illegal operators saw their average growth rate rise twice as high (on average) compared to those states that didn’t undertake a crackdown.

Overall, more than 724,400 new online wagering accounts were opened, in regulated states. Further, it was predicted that this year's Super Bowl would set a legal record betting figure of £1.1bn just from Americans.

This appears to be a clear indicator of how enforcement action can positively impact the regulated market, following on from a GeoComply video message last year. It was released to urge state and federal authorities to curtail illegal online gambling in the US, and further stimulate the legal industry.

Anna Sainsbury, CEO and co-founder of GeoComply, explained: “When states take enforcement action, we see a correlation with increased engagement on our customer’s platforms. More fans are choosing legal sportsbooks, driven by stronger consumer protections and enhanced user experiences. This means even greater tax revenues to support local communities and promote responsible growth while reducing reliance on illegal sportsbooks."

She continued: “GeoComply’s unwavering commitment to reliability and scalability means that during big moments like the Super Bowl, our customers can trust us to support them fully. We’re proud to power the infrastructure that allows millions of fans to participate in one of the most important sporting events of the year, and we’ll continue innovating to meet the ever-growing demands of this dynamic market.”

As the Super Bowl LIX action unfolded on the field in the Louisiana heat, GeoComply recorded plenty of activity online in The Big Easy with 535,000 geolocation transactions from more than 60,400 active sports betting accounts. 

The peak of 14,300 geolocation transactions per second (TPS) came just before half-time, immediately after the Eagles' third touchdown of the contest. 

GeoComply’s services are used by prominent American gambling platforms including BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel, as part of the operation to analyse more than one billion transactions every month across the industry.