More than 16 million mobile sports betting geolocation transactions were recorded from Nov. 23-27 in Maryland, according to GeoComply. The geolocation and fraud specialist shared a press release Monday with the data.
“A strong start for the regulated market delivers on the promise of new revenues and consumer protections,” GeoComply Senior Vice President of Compliance Lindsay Slader said in the press release. “Marylanders will continue to ditch illegal offshore sportsbooks for the security of legal, regulated operators that provide player safeguards and tax dollars for the state, just as lawmakers intended.”
Seven mobile operators (Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet) officially launched their mobile sportsbooks on Nov. 23. The launch came ahead of a busy few days on the U.S. sports calendar as Thanksgiving NFL games, World Cup matches, and college football rivalry matchups took place during the Wednesday-Sunday period in question.
GeoComply’s data found that 477,365 unique accounts have been registered in Maryland. There were 3.7 million geolocation transfers on Thanksgiving Day, the second day of full, legal mobile wagering in the state.
Comparing to other states
Retail sports betting went live in Maryland at the end of 2022, but it’s evident that mobile will be the dominant form of sports betting in the state moving forward. The first few days of legal mobile sports betting in the state generated significant interest from bettors. That interest should last for at least a few months as the NFL season wraps up, before dipping during the summer months, as is typical across the country.
GeoComply data showed that the 16.5 million transactions drastically exceeded totals in Virginia (8.5 million), Indiana (6.7 million), Tennessee (6.6 million), and Colorado (3.8 million) during the same time period. Maryland’s population is similar to each of those four states, which is why GeoComply used them as points of comparison. It’s not unusual for states to experience high levels of betting activity and consumer interest immediately after launching.
The transaction total in Maryland came close to matching New Jersey’s 17.1 million, an impressive note given New Jersey’s larger population and mature sports betting market.
