Oregon Goes Live With Online and Mobile Gambling

After the Oregon legislature passed legislation that legalized both retail and online sports betting earlier this year, there was a presumption everything would be up and running for sports bettors by the beginning of the 2019 NFL regular season. While the Chinook Winds Casino Resort, a tribal casino on the coast, was able to hit that mark on the retail side, online sports betting remained in the wings.

In an unusual twist, online sports betting will be run by the Oregon Lottery. The lottery has partnered with SBTech to develop its Scoreboard betting app. For a variety of reason, it has taken a while to get all the ducks in order. Well, the ducks are in order and Oregonians can now wager on sports through the Scoreboard Android mobile app.

Available wagers include straight bets, parlay bets and in-play betting. Bettors will also have an opportunity to cash out bets early, giving them the latitude to cuts losses or lock in profits. This is a fairly new concept that warrants more exploration.

Sports Gambling Restrictions in Oregon

Sports betting in Oregon is restricted to patrons who can prove they are 21 years of age or older. The retail sports betting sites will operate exclusively on Tribal lands in the near term, though betting kiosks located throughout the state are a real possibility in the future.

Currently, Oregon sports bettors can only wager on “sporting events associated with a recognized governing body.” It's worth noting that excludes betting on NCAA sports like Basketball and Football. While that's a major restriction in the eyes of sports bettors, the future of college sports betting in the state is far from dead. They just need more time to work with local universities to ensure certain protections.

It's also noteworthy that the Scoreboard mobile app will not be accessible within the confines of Indian lands. There's a serious effort being made to not infringe on the potential revenue streams of Tribal concerns.

Funding Mobile Gambling Accounts

While the Wire Act of 1961 strictly forbids the use of wire systems to fund sports betting accounts, the Oregon legislature has gone out on a limb. In fact, sports bettors will be permitted to fund their sports betting accounts with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, PayPal and ACH. It will be interesting to see if this level of access will prompt the US Department of Justice to take any actions.