Geolocation tracking company ‘GeoComply’ analyzes sports betting in Ohio

(WKBN) – Sports betting has been extremely popular in Ohio. We won’t find out until late February how much money has been bet, once the Casino Control Commission reports that number.

We talked with someone from the company that is required to track the Ohio bets, and they discussed how popular it has been in the Mahoning Valley.

Every time a sports bettor logs on to their computer, tablet or an app, GeoComply knows. It’s a cybersecurity company that confirms that person is in the state.

“In the first 48 hours, over 200,000 attempts from Kentucky to access the sites that were located in Ohio,” said John Pappas, public affairs for GeoComply.

Sports betting is illegal in Kentucky. Checking the geolocation is simply a compliance, too. GeoComply collects no personal information about the players. But around here, you’re being watched closely.

“Your viewers in Youngstown may get geochecked more often or may have more stringent geolocation parameters around them because they are close to the Pennsylvania border,” Pappas said.

Federal and state laws require knowing the location of this activity.

Here are the numbers GeoComply shared about sports betting from Ohio’s first 10 days. Almost 2.25 million transactions have taken place in the tri-county area from the 64,000 active accounts. Those numbers represent 4 to 5 percent of the state total. Ohio has had 54.5 million transactions from 1.38 million accounts.

“Ohio broke a few records that we saw, particularly in just the amount of interest immediately off the bat. I think that had to do a lot with the unique timing of the launch,” Pappas said.

GeoComply looks solely at internet-based devices. It does not work with the kiosks.

Next month will be a peak season for sports betting with the NFL playoffs, leading to the Super Bowl.

“We anticipate Ohio to be, you know, near the top. I think long-term, probably a top five state in terms of volumes that we see,” Pappas said.

GeoComply looks at longitude, latitude and precise location. It is able to detect if someone is trying to spoof their location, and stop that person from gambling. That keeps it legal, regulated and accountable in Ohio.