Minnesotans Blocked from Placing March Madness Bets in Due to Geolocation Software

(KNSI) — March Madness betting is big business, but thousands of Minnesotans attempting to access legal sports books in other states were blocked from doing so thanks to geolocation compliance software.

Between March 21st and the 31st, more than 86,700 attempts were made to access legal mobile sportsbooks in other states from devices located in Minnesota—61% of them were accessing legal sports books in Iowa.

GeoComply provides geolocation compliance, fraud prevention and cybersecurity for sports betting operators and can block Minnesotans from wagering since we do not have legal sports betting. Geolocation checks are recorded at various stages of a user engaging with a legal sportsbook, including registering an account, logging in, and placing a bet.

Generally, the blocked device holders have a legal account on a sports betting site and are physically in the state. They could also have been in a different state and close to the border, but the attempt could have been blocked because the device pinged off a tower in Minnesota.

Our neighboring states offer all sports betting, and GeoComply says they have identified more than 100,000 user accounts in Minnesota. That data comes from the company’s geolocation transactions for its sportsbook customers in other states offering legal sports betting.

In 2023, there were 1.6 million attempts to access legal sports books from devices in Minnesota. Those were also blocked.

Proponents of legalizing sports betting say it could be a major boon to the state, generating $40 to $85 million in new tax revenue. Those proceeds would be used for problem gambling resources, supporting youth sports, athlete education programs, charitable gaming tax relief for local charities, attracting major sporting events here, and boosting horse racing. There is bipartisan backing for it. The Senate sponsor is Republican Senator Jeremy Miller. The House sponsor is DFL Representative Zach Stephenson, who claims he is close to striking a deal.

Those opposed to the idea include Canterbury Park because the bill doesn’t allow horse tracks in on the action, but lawmakers say they would still benefit from the proceeds. Other wrinkles still need to be ironed out like whether in-game betting would be allowed and if fantasy and e-sports can also be included.

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