GeoComply tracks data from NFL Week 1 - records set

• GeoComply notes huge surge in geolocation checks, new player account signs up during NFL Week 1
• Football is an opportunity to reactivate existing customers as well as bring new people in
• Prediction markets are already driving solid results as well, and some analysts expect them to handle 21% of the total

GeoComply has posted the latest data collated from the first week of the National Football League (NFL) season, which led to a jump in new account sign-ups by more than 310% to 135,700.

GeoComply records National Football League Week 1 opening numbers

Additionally, the Sunday action registered an increase of 176% compared to the last Sunday of August, when a preseason game was played.

The opening salvo in the betting week comes at a time when the American Gaming Association (AGA) is projecting that this season’s betting handle may be adversely impacted by emerging challenges, such as prediction markets.

According to GeoComply there have been a total of 99.8 million checks with US-regulated sportsbooks over the first week of play, although it’s important to note that a single customer could generate multiple checks.

In a statement, GeoComply wrote: "Football doesn’t just wake up the betters already on a platform. It brings in brand-new players who want in on the action." In other words, the new NFL season is already leading to new player acquisition for sportsbooks that are keen to capitalize on this.

FanDuel, a legacy sportsbook, has also celebrated the opening week, touting on social media X that it has recorded its "biggest NFL regular season Sunday ever by active customers." In other words, interest in NFL betting is not only sustained but is also actively climbing.

However, sportsbooks are not the only companies to have reaped benefits from Sunday’s opening week. According to Aldrin Research, seven of the prediction market operators tracked by the company led to $510.9m in trades during the opening week.

Prediction markets will be a fixture in the NFL betting landscape in 2026

DraftKings Predictions, Novig, Prophet X, and Crypto dot com have either broken new records or approached those numbers. The conclusion is that the launch of the new season has served as a strong boost to both legacy sportsbooks and prediction market platforms.

At the same time, Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, a research company for the gaming industry, estimates that about 79% of all NFL action will be placed with sportsbooks, while prediction market platforms take about 21%.

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