It seemed apparent all along that that NFL football and Massachusetts sports betting would be a great mix. Now, we have the numbers to prove it.
Last week, Commonwealth residents experienced the first week of NFL football wagering after sports betting was introduced on the retail market on Jan. 31, with mobile on March 10 within the state. Vancouver-based GeoComply announced Wednesday its football sports betting figures for legalized gaming states over the last week (Sept. 3-10) with the NFL’s regular season kicking off.
New Accounts Boom as NFL Opens
Massachusetts added nearly 60,000 new sports wagering accounts, 380,000 active accounts and more than 9 million geolocation transactions. A transaction is when a mobile user logs into their individual account, not necessarily making a wager. Geolocation checks are recorded at various stages of a user engaging with a legal mobile sportsbook, including registering an account, logging in and placing a bet.
Nationally, the company recorded 242.3 million geolocation transactions using regulated online sportsbooks during this first week. That is a 56% increase from the same time period in 2022. Week 1 also had 1.1 million new player accounts created across the nation, a 40% increase from 2022.
Mobile sports wagering has launched officially in 24 states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. Five others have passed legislation that is expected to go live in the coming weeks and months. There are a number of Massachusetts sports betting apps that figure into the GeoComply numbers.
Week 2 kicks off Thursday night as the 0-1 Minnesota Vikings visit the 1-0 Philadelphia Eagles (Amazon Prime Video, 8:15 p.m.). The New England Patriots (0-1) will host the Miami Dolphins (1-0) in a key AFC East Division battle Sunday night (NBC, 8:20 p.m.). Dropping to 0-2 certainly would be a blow to the Patriots’ playoff chances.
