Sports Betting in Oregon

While sports betting is legal in Oregon, your options are fairly limited here. Only one DraftKings online sportsbook is allowed to accept wagers, and there are only a handful of in-person betting locations in the state.

In January 2022, DraftKings took over Oregon's online sports betting market. This means there are only four locations where you can bet in person in the whole state if Oregon, namely:

• Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City
• Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde
• Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence
• The Mill Casino & Hotel in North Bend

Basketball is popular sport for betting in Oregon, with the Portland Trail Blazers an obvious team to put some money on, if you want to support a local team.

Oregonians also like betting on soccer: the Portland Timbers typically attract a significant portion of those bets in the MLS. 

For college sports fans, there are two major universities in Oregon: the University of Oregon and Oregon State University - and you can bet on both college basketball and football. It will be interesting to see if regulations expand to include online betting on collegiate events in the future.

Oregon's unique approach to legalizing sports betting

Sports betting in Oregon has a long history, dating back to 1990 when the state's lottery introduced Sports Action. This was well before the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was passed in 1992, exempting Oregon from its restrictions due to existing sports betting laws.

Despite this, the Oregon Lottery discontinued Sports Action in 2007 due to its low profits. It wasn't until the repeal of PASPA in 2018 that the state was urged to create a new sports betting law, which included state-specific regulations. In response to these changes, Oregon made a major adjustment to its sports betting market. 

Unlike many other states, Oregon did not need to pass a new law to launch sports betting due these existing legislations. This saved the state time and resources, as other markets faced significant challenges before legalizing sports betting. For example, Massachusetts saw lengthy legislative debates, regulatory hurdles, and stakeholder disagreements before opening the betting market.

The Oregon Lottery was given control over the state's sports betting market and quickly launched the Scoreboard App although, from what we have heard from local bettors, the betting experience in the app could use some work.

After a lack of interest from bettors, the lottery teamed up with DraftKings Sportsbook to offer more options.

Although Native American tribes are also allowed to offer sports betting, all wagers must be made in person according to current regulations.

Oregon sports betting regulations - key points

The Oregon Lottery has been granted the authority to offer online sports betting in the state, creating a monopoly. 

• Betting for those 21 or older. Sports betting is only available to individuals aged 21 or older, including out-of-state visitors.
• No college betting online. Sportsbooks in Oregon can offer bets on a variety of sports, but there are different regulations for retail sportsbooks. While tribal casinos can offer betting on collegiate sporting events at their in-person locations, this is not allowed for online sportsbooks.
• In-person betting only/ Even though Native American tribes can offer online sports betting, all bets must be placed from the physical location of the casino.
• Low tax. Oregon has the lowest sports betting revenue tax rate in the country, which is another advantage for DraftKings as the sole operator in the state.

It's worth pointing out that Oregon's sports betting market is relatively young, having relaunched in 2019 after the repeal of PASPA. 

Since then, the state has seen steady growth in betting activity. The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis reported in its September 2024 Revenue Outlook that sports betting revenues are consistently outperforming expectations. 

Projections for 2023-25 were raised by $2.4 million, with an extra $3.3 million expected in 2025-27. Parlay bets, in particular, have contributed significantly to this upward trend, drawing more engagement from bettors.

These numbers show the growing popularity and financial impact of sports betting in Oregon - let's see what the future brings for sports betting in