Georgia Sports Bettors Indicate It's Time to Pass Sports Betting Legislation

With a dozen or so states yet to pass sports betting legislation, it leaves a large part of the U.S. population unable to legally bet on sports from their home states. The only alternative that real sports betting enthusiasts have in those states is to make the occasional trek to a neighboring state that does permit retail and or mobile sports betting.

That trek is necessary because all states that have passed sports betting legislation require that bettors be physically present in the state in which they are wagering. Operators in these states are more than happy to accept customers from other states as long as the rules are being followed.

To ensure the rule about being present in-state is followed, all operators are required to use some form of geo-tracking software to confirm the location of their customers. For many operators, GeoComply is the geo-tracking software platform of choice.

Evidence Mounts That Georgia Residents Want Sports Betting Legislation Passed

Not only does the GeoComply platform verify customer locations, but it also accumulates data about customers or potential customers. According to some data reported after Super Bowl LVIII (2024), Georgia residents were making serious attempts at getting access to mobile sportsbooks in neighboring states like Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Here is what the data reported.

- There were over 70,000 attempts by Georgia residents to place mobile sports bets in Tennessee. That's an increase of 87% over what was reported last year.

- 11,000 mobile accounts belonged to Georgia residents at the time the Super Bowl was being played. That's a 74% increase over what was reported last year.

- In total, 33% of all log-in attempts with Tennessee mobile sports betting operators came from Georgia IP addresses.

- Throughout 2023, the GeoComply platform reported there were over 290,000 sports betting accounts that had been successfully opened from Georgia. Many were shut down after being detected.

- The data reported there were over 3.4 million geo-location checks that detected Georgia IP addresses per GeoComply.

- More than 1.0 million of those geo-location checks were directly attributed to Georgia residents trying to access the Tennessee mobile sportsbook.

What Does the Data Say?

It's impossible to ignore numbers that are so large and continuing to grow. It's noteworthy that similar trends exist in other states where retail or mobile sports betting legislation has not yet been passed.

For the state of Georgia legislators, the aforementioned data should serve as a warning. The warning should make clear that Georgia residents are getting impatient about the legislature's unwillingness and inability to present and pass sports betting legislation.

At some point, someone in Georgia's leadership is going to need to recognize the fact that significant tax revenue is going to neighboring states when it could be going into Georgia's coffer. While Georgia has always been a conservative state, there has to come a point when it's irresponsible to deny residents access to something they clearly want. It's also irresponsible to pass on tax revenue that should be benefiting those same Georgia residents.