Four weeks into the NFL season, the action is already intense. From a thrilling opening weekend to nail-biting Week 4 finishes, one thing is clear: America’s love for football is as strong as ever.
In August, we shared our blog on NFL Season Readiness, where we outlined how GeoComply works with customers to help them navigate the season’s unique challenges. Now, as we reflect on the first month of the season, we’re proud to see that these collaborative efforts with our customers have come to life to unlock growth. By merging the industry’s most advanced geolocation technology with player-centric compliance and a shared commitment to integrity and security, we’ve helped our partners stay competitive and ahead of the game.
In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the fascinating trends from the first four weeks of the NFL season, including growth metrics and fraud insights.
Understanding player behavior like never before
The first four weeks of the NFL season have provided incredible insights into player behavior, helping operators fine-tune strategies and adapt to emerging trends. Here are a few standout data points that have defined this season so far:
- Growing Legal Sportsbooks: Activity at legal sportsbooks has surged compared to last year, with states like North Carolina experiencing their first NFL season and mature markets continuing to attract new customers. Our data shows that active accounts have grown by 23% compared to the first four weeks of last season, with new account registrations reaching over 2.6 million.
- TGIF: The addition of a Friday night game during the opening weekend drove significant growth compared to Week 1 last year. Our data shows that active accounts and geolocation volumes both spiked by nearly 60% during the Packers vs. Eagles game on September 6, 2024, compared to the previous Friday.
- Retention from Super Bowl LVIII: Player loyalty has been strong; our data shows that 64% of accounts active during Super Bowl LVIII re-engaged [at some point] during the first four weeks of this NFL season.
- In-Stadium Engagement: The NFL stadium experience has become even more interactive. Our data shows that, on average, in-stadium betting activity is up by more than 1,100 active accounts compared to last season. Soldier Field in Chicago has led the way, with an average of 13.5% of attendees engaging with betting apps at this season’s games, while MetLife Stadium in New Jersey saw the greatest increase in average active accounts, growing from 6.7k last season to 9.5k this year.
Opening the funnel: streamlining the player experience
With the NFL driving new customer acquisition for online sportsbooks, it is critical to open the funnel wider by reducing friction in the player journey, from the moment they onboard, to placing a bet, and beyond. Great geolocation technology goes beyond the compliance checkbox — it helps operators deliver world-class player experiences that turn first-time bettors into loyal players.
- Near-Perfect Geolocation Pass Rates: With pass rates exceeding 99%, our customers deliver a seamless and reliable experience, even in the most challenging border regions. This precision is especially critical during the busy NFL season, ensuring that legitimate players can easily place their bets while minimizing disruptions. By maximizing geolocation accuracy, our customers are able to capture every opportunity for engagement.
- Lightning-Fast Checks and Low Latency: Even with a surge in new accounts and activity our geolocation checks this NFL season are typically completed in under 700 milliseconds on iOS devices, compared to several seconds for other geolocation providers. This level of speed is crucial for supporting the growing segment of live betting, where players need instant access to place bets in real-time as the game unfolds.
- Efficient Battery Usage: As sports betting app usage surges this NFL season, GeoComply’s technology ensures that players can stay in the game longer, using just 3-5% of a device’s battery per hour. In contrast, some competitors’ solutions drain up to 25% of battery life, leaving players scrambling for a charger instead of placing bets. Our optimized approach minimizes battery drain, delivering a smooth, uninterrupted experience even during peak game moments.
- Superior KYC Solutions: Our advanced age and identity verification platform, IDComply, has transformed the registration process, allowing new players to onboard quickly and securely. One customer has seen a remarkable 94% conversion rate of new players this season, thanks to IDComply’s seamless integration. Overall, usage of our KYC solution has surged by 127% compared to last season, as more sportsbooks recognize the full advantage that GeoComply brings in streamlining compliance and improving player acquisition.
- Reliability Rules: With uptime consistently above 99.99% so far in the NFL season, our platform ensures seamless performance, even during peak moments, providing confidence that players can access their accounts and place bets whenever they want, without interruption.
Fraud prevention: protecting your business, saving you money
Fraud prevention remains at the heart of GeoComply’s mission. The start of a new NFL season is always accompanied by an increase in fraud attempts. That’s why we worked closely with our customers in the off-season to implement updated systems and protocols designed to safeguard their platforms.
- Preventing Bonus Abuse, Saving Millions: In just the first four weeks of this NFL season, GeoComply has flagged thousands of devices for multi-accounting, a common sign of fraudsters seeking to exploit sign-up bonuses offered by sportsbooks. We estimate that our proactive fraud detection has saved our customers millions of dollars in potential bonus abuse just since the start of this NFL season.
- Combatting Chargeback Abuse: GeoComply’s advanced geolocation intelligence plays a critical role in helping operators combat chargeback abuse—one of the most costly forms of fraud impacting not only the gaming industry but also the broader e-commerce world. This NFL season more of our customers are leveraging precise geolocation data via the GeoComply Chargeback Integrator to effectively challenge fraudulent chargeback claims. They can expect to achieve win rates of up to 76-90%, well above the market average.
These are just a couple of examples of how GeoComply continues to provide risk solutions tailored to the unique needs of the digital gaming industry, ensuring operators can protect their revenue and maintain a secure, trustworthy platform.
As we look back on the first four weeks of the NFL season, we’re proud of the role we’ve played in helping our partners navigate a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. With data-driven insights, seamless player experiences, and strong fraud prevention measures, we remain committed to helping our partners thrive.
Do you like what we’ve shared in this blog? Now you can stay in the know all season long with GeoComply’s Monday Huddle.
Whether you’re interested in the latest industry developments, emerging market trends, user engagement, or the overall growth of legal sports betting, GeoComply’s Monday Huddle offers valuable insights you won’t want to miss. Every Monday during the NFL season at approximately 3 PM ET, we release key data points that shape the future of sports betting.
Get in The Huddle: Follow us on LinkedIn and X to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and insights from the world of sports betting. Thank you for following along, and we look forward to sharing more with you each week!
GeoComply’s data used in this report is based on aggregated geolocation transactions and other aggregated data from a sample of its online sportsbook customers in regulated US states. The data does not include insights from Florida.
GeoComply has a unique view of the US online sports betting market as the trusted geolocation supplier for many of the regulated online sports betting operators in the US. GeoComply’s data does not purport to be definitive or represent any entire US state or the entire US market, but is intended to provide general insights into relevant market dynamics.
This blog has not been reviewed, authorized, or endorsed by the National Football League or any of its Member Clubs.
