The National Football League kicked off its 2022 season with a marquee Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills.

With more states having legalized sports betting for the season, here’s a look at what could be in store for the industry and publicly traded sports betting companies.

What Happened: The 2022 NFL season could see an increase in sports betting handle. Data from Thursday Night’s opening contest suggests that more people could be betting this season.

Geolocation volume checks from GeoComply were up 77% year-over-year for the NFL season opener, as reported by sports betting reporter Ryan Butler.

A total of 22.6 million location checks were performed on behalf of sports betting clients.

GeoComply performed 3.7 million geolocation checks in the state of New York on Thursday, the first opening night of an NFL season legally offered to residents in the state, as New York joined the online sports betting party during the NFL Playoffs in early 2022.

The American Gaming Association estimates that 46.6 million Americans will bet on the 2022 NFL season, according to ESPN. This would be a 3% increase from the prior season. Of the total, 23 million plan on betting online during the NFL season, which would be up 18% from 2021.

A total of 31 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico offer legal sports betting. Several other states could legalize soon and be part of the 2022 NFL season.

In 2022, over $50.4 billion has already been bet on sports with U.S. based sportsbooks, according to data from the American Gaming Association.

The NFL is one of the largest bet on sports of the year and could see a new influx of new users from new states.

Stocks to Watch: A handful of sports betting companies operate in the U.S. market in states that have legalized sports betting.

Genius Sports (NYSE:GENI): Sports betting data company Genius Sports has a partnership with the NFL as the official data provider to sports betting operators.

This means that sports betting companies need to partner with Genius Sports if they want real-time data and in some cases the ability to offer same game parlays. The NFL is an investor in Genius Sports.

As more states legalize and more sportsbooks hit the market, Genius Sports could continue to see the benefits of its exclusive partnership with the NFL.

While the promotion cost DraftKings money, it also likely led to increased betting handle and people placing their winnings on other bets during the contest.

Related Link: 9 Stocks To Watch For Ohio's Sports Betting Market, Which Could HIt $12 Billion 

FanDuel: Owned by Flutter Entertainment (OTC:PDYPY), FanDuel has been a market leader in the states in which it operates. The company has also put a focus on earnings with tighter cost controls and perhaps less promotional activity than competitors.

Flutter reported six month revenue of $4.12 billion, up 10.9% year-over-year. The company highlighted it had 51% market share in the U.S. in the first half of the fiscal year compared to 45% in the prior year.

FanDuel held the No. 1 market share in 13 of the 15 states in which it offered online sports betting during the aforementioned time period. With less promotional activity, it could be interesting to see if FanDuel can maintain its betting handle lead, or if bettors will choose to take free money and heavy promotions offered by other operators.

Barstool Sportsbook: Owned by PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN), Barstool Sportsbook offers its online sports betting in several states including the recently launched Kansas market.

The company has seen a loyal base of users thanks to its strong focus on using its personalities and brand ambassadors as the face of the betting business and to offer boosted odds bets for customers.

The company is also an official partner of several NFL teams, which could give it a boost during the season with offerings geared toward existing NFL fans.

Disclosure: Author is long GENI shares.

Photo via Shutterstock.