U.S. Sees Massive Weekend of Sports Betting with NFL Opening Weekend
According to GeoComply Solutions, the sports betting industry in the United States is growing exponentially, with figures showing that the number of bets placed has doubled in the last year. The growth, however, isn’t that surprising, as operators continue to expand into new markets and several states deciding to legalize sports betting.
The Biggest Year of Sports Betting
GeoComply Solutions, a company that tracks betting activity in the United States, released intriguing figures on Tuesday, September 14, unveiling that there were over 58.2 million geolocation transactions from Thursday through Sunday. The figures include 18 states and the District of Columbia and show a 126% increase in transactions from the same period in 2020 when GeoComply processed just under 26 million transactions.
GeoComply used this period to track the betting activity since it coincides with the opening week of the NFL season. It is also one of the most active periods for sports betting in the United States. Consequently, it shows a reasonably accurate figure of how popular betting is across the U.S. and whether the market has experienced any growth over the year.
Suffice to say, sports betting activity has increased quite significantly since 2020. That has to do with its popularity, the accessibility of online sportsbooks, and mainly the legalization of sports betting across the U.S.
“Preparing for this NFL season has been a process that began before the end of last season, and we expected high volumes, but what we have seen has surprised us nonetheless,” said Lindsay Slader, Managing Director of Gaming for GeoComply
The level of demand across new markets, such as Arizona, indicates that consumers have long waited for the option to legally place a sports bet.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania Lead the Way
If you have been following the progression of sports betting in the United States, it should not shock you that New Jersey and Pennsylvania have emerged as two states with the largest volume of transactions over the week. The Garden State amassed 12.5 million betting transactions during the NFL opening week, closely followed by Pennsylvania at 11.5 million, for a combined of 24 million across both.
Michigan (7.5 million), Arizona (6.1 million), and Illinois (4.8 million) ranked as the third-fifth states with the highest volume of transactions. Although those numbers can’t compare to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Arizona stands out for many reasons.
Arizona introduced sports betting on Thursday, thus became the latest state to do so. Regardless, it was quickly established that sports betting is and will remain popular in the Grand Canyon State, which has recorded over six million transactions from over 270,000 new online sports betting accounts.
“Arizona is showing that there is pent-up demand for sports betting in the western part of the U.S. In just its first weekend, the state has catapulted near the top as the 4th largest state for transactions. We haven’t seen anything quite like it,” said Ms. Slader.
With over 270,000 new online sports betting accounts in Arizona, nearly 3% of the Grand Canyon State population now owns a sports betting account – a number that is expected to grow by the end of 2021 and into 2022.
NFL Betting Bigger Than Ever
While the long-awaited legalization of sports betting in Arizona has definitely helped with the growth of the market in the state, the main factor that contributed to it was the launch of the 2021/22 NFL season.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) predicted 2021 to have the most NFL betting to date. The conclusion comes from a study that showed over 18% of Americans are planning on wagering on NFL this season, with AGA expecting 36% more Americans to get involved in NFL betting this term.
Currently, Americans can place sports bets across 26 states and Washington D.C, with five more states expected to join in on the fun by the end of the season. Suffice to say, 2021 will be the biggest year for sports betting in the United States and a year that will forever change how the market will operate – not only in the U.S. but across the globe.
