Is Sports Betting Legal in Oregon?
Oregon was one of four states grandfathered into the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that had outlawed sports betting up until May 14, 2018. Oregon was exempt from the 1992 ruling for the most part and had offered parlay betting through the lottery until 2007 when opposition from the leagues and the NCAA became too much to handle.
Now, 11 years later, the lottery is looking to get back on the horse. Oregon, like quite a few states, only has casinos on tribal lands. The expansion of gambling hasn’t really been a big deal in Oregon, where state revenues are created in other ways with a lot of natural resources and industries.
Because the state already had some experience in sports betting, plans were being completed in silent behind the scenes as it looked more and more likely that the Supreme Court would have its say regarding PASPA. That puts Oregon ahead of the curve a little bit in terms of the states west of the Rockies. A lot of states on the East Coast and across the Midwest are moving quickly, but states out west, Nevada excepted, of course, don’t seem to have as much urgency. Oregon is definitely the opposite in that regard.
What does make Oregon much different than a lot of states, as you’ll read in the upcoming links, they are moving forward very quickly with mobile betting. Many of the states that are getting set up for legalization are going to use race tracks or brick-and-mortar casinos. In those states, lawmakers have voiced concerns about mobile betting or have been trying to figure out its legality. In Oregon, that hurdle was cleared a long time ago.
Recent News Stories About Sports Betting
In the Statesman Journal following the strike down of PASPA, Whitney Woodworth spoke with lawmakers and lottery officials about the return of sports betting.
In the Washington County News/Holmes Country Times Advertiser, an op/ed piece talked about the Sports Action app that originally gave Oregonians the ability to do parlay wagering via the lottery and gave some revenue figures.
An interesting side story in all states is how the athletic departments at the major universities are handling the legalization of sports betting. For OregonLive, Andrew Greif chatted with some of the athletic directors.
The biggest story to come out of Oregon, a place where sports betting wasn’t outlawed to begin with, is that the Oregon Lottery is really pushing for mobile wagering.
Forecast
Oregon was already open for sports betting business, so there aren’t any questions about legalization. It’s simply about implementation right now and how long it takes to get set up. The lottery was already running parlay wagering and the lottery seems to be equipped to take on single-game wagering. Now we just have to see how it will be done.
Neighboring States
California
Idaho
Nevada
Washington