Data from a leading technology vendor to mobile sports operators shows that 5.6 million legal sports betting accounts were accessed over Super Bowl weekend. That’s nearly double the total from last year, according to cybersecurity solutions provider GeoComply.
Accessing an account does not necessarily equate to placing a bet, but the company that provides geofencing technology (i.e., technology that keeps people from betting across state lines or where it’s prohibited) said previously that geolocation transactions – or confirming the user’s whereabouts – represents “a strong indicator of market activity.”
On Twitter Sunday night, GeoComply said it registered more than 80.1 million such transactions over the weekend. That represents a nearly 2.3-times increase in traffic on legal sports betting sites from 2021.
Traffic remained steady throughout the weekend as the company reported nearly 12 million transactions – or about 15 percent – occurred in the second half of Sunday’s game, a hard-fought contest that the Los Angeles Rams pulled out against the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23-20. The Rams scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter.
Expanded Access Leads to More Legal Transactions
Sports betting is now legal in 30 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. According to the American Gaming Association, 45 million more people could gamble legally on the big game this year compared to last year thanks to implementations in such states as Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, and Washington state.
However, the biggest difference was expanding sports betting in New York to allow for online gaming across the state. New York is the largest state in the country currently offering mobile sports betting. Previously, New York only allowed sports betting at the state’s commercial and tribal casinos located in upstate communities and away from the more populated downstate region.
In its first month of online wagering in January, New York reported a handle of $1.6 billion, the largest ever for a state in a single month.
Before the big game, the AGA estimated that 31.4 million Americans would bet on the Super Bowl. Of that total, 18.2 million said they would bet online, at a retail sportsbook, or through a bookie.
The association estimated that Americans would bet more than $7.6 billion on the game. That included illegal betting and casual wagers, such as bets among friends, office pools, or jackpots at parties.
Rams Make Some (Bit)coin for Drake
Betting on the Super Bowl also took place outside the US, and one of the biggest winners was Canadian rapper Drake.
The celebrity sports fan made three Bitcoin megawagers on the Rams and star receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Two of the three cashed, including a CAD 600,0000 ($471,517) bet on the Rams moneyline that netted CAD 306,000 ($240,488) and a CAD 500,000 ($392,931) bet on Beckham scoring a touchdown that netted CAD 575,000 ($451,897).
Drake’s third bet – CAD 500,000 on Thurman getting more than 62.5 receiving yards – would have likely cashed if not for the receiver leaving the game in the first half due to a possible ACL tear in his knee. He had 52 yards on his first two catches.
Even with the one miss, Drake still netted CAD 381,000 ($299,431) on his wagers. Based on the current currency conversions, that works out to roughly seven Bitcoin.
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