Sports betting in Oregon – is it legal?

With sports betting being an area that is coming under the spotlight recently in the United States, you may be wondering whether it is legal in Oregon and what the general state of it is. In this article, you will find all the information you may need on sports betting in the state of Oregon.

Is it legal?

The short answer is that yes, online sports betting is legal in Oregon. This comes after the Supreme Court made the decision that each state can decide on the legality of online betting themselves.

There is however only one app that allows it, called Scoreboard. The Oregon Lottery controls all betting on sports in the state, so it is very unlikely that another option for online betting will be available any time soon, but even just one option is better than none.

Important to remember

Since there is only one option for betting online, this means that comparing odds and techniques such as arbitrage betting are redundant since they can not work. Because of this, you need to absolutely avoid placing a bet for the sake of it, unless you are happy with losing your money. If you are betting to try and make profit, you need to make sure that the odds are worth your bet, and do not place a bet with less than ideal odds.

What are the most popular markets?

Interestingly, the most popular sport to bet on in the state of Oregon is not basketball, baseball or even American football. Instead, the sport that saw a third of all bets is table tennis. It was recorded that almost four million dollars were wagered on table tennis in the month of May. This is likely due to Coronavirus cancelling a lot of events, as table tennis continued to be organised.

Other popular sports were UFC and football. The UFC returned in May which explains the increase in bets from April to May. In April, UFC was only bet on 487 times. In May, that figure increased to a whopping 50,694 bets. Similarly, football experienced a huge increase in bets and money wagered, as German football returned, and other leagues prepared to come back.

How many active gamblers are there?

In May, there were 7,763 active gamblers compared to 5,374 in May. This is to be expected as sport was returning in May compared to the few selections available in April, and as events continue to be organised, it is very likely that this figure will only go up.

Considering Oregon has a population of over four million people, these statistics are not hugely shocking. There are less gamblers than one might expect but there are also explanations for the low numbers. Online betting is a very new phenomenon so people will be wary of it as first, and of course Covid-19 had a big impact on betting worldwide.

What next for online sports betting in Oregon?

Because of the global pandemic’s impact, Oregon Lottery is looking for ways to increase their revenues from online sports betting. The solution that they have been looking at recently and that could very quickly become legal is virtual sports.

Virtual sports run 24/7 and require very little action, only if something goes wrong.This means that there will always be something to bet on and the outcomes are completely random in a legitimate way.  If it is allowed, then we could see various virtual sports coming to the online betting world of Oregon.

Things to consider if you are thinking about betting online in Oregon

Before you start gambling, it is very important that you think about why you are betting. You can either be betting to make money or you can be betting as a fun hobby. With the latter, you do not need to be too careful and can go ahead and bet in Oregon, just make sure you do not lose too much money.

If you are trying to make money, then you will need more effort, research and time. Since there is only one option for betting, it will be more difficult to find value bets, but there will still be some up for grabs. What you will need to make money is bravery. Once you find a bet that you are happy with, you need to be brave enough to back it. If you lose your bet, you need to be brave by not chasing the loss and instead only putting on a bet that you are happy with.