Two lawmakers in Oregon are introducing legislation that would ban sports betting just as the Oregon Lottery is working on regulation needed before it can roll out the service.
Last week Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mark Hass filed an amendment to an active bill that would ban sports betting on mobile platforms. If that passes the Lottery would only be able to offer sports betting at retail operations and kiosks.
Meanwhile, the Lottery is working toward launching sports betting in September. So having an influential senator propose banning that is making some waves.
Lottery Spokesman Matt Shelby told Sports Handle, “The legislature as a whole has essentially earmarked potential sports betting to pay down” the pension deficit. “The body has already kind of committed the funds, but there are individual members who are trying to significantly reduce the potential revenue. We continue to have strong support from the governor’s office, so as I sit here today we are moving forward for a September 1 launch.” The goal is to have sports betting available for the NFL season.
Hass’s amendment is to HB 3389, which would provide confidentiality to lottery winners. The amendment says: “The Oregon State Lottery Commission may not initiate or operate a lottery game for which tickets or shares may be purchased:
“1) Via the Internet; or
“(2) Via a personal computer, mobile device or other personal electronic device.”
When there was a federal ban on sports gaming, Oregon was one of four states that was exempt. So it needs no law to legalize sports book, as other states have been actively doing for the last year since the Supreme Court declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional.
Another senator, Chuck Riley, has proposed a different but similar amendment, that also forbids internet or sports betting, but allows it in retail locations such as restaurants.
Several months ago the Lottery selected the controversial provider SB Tech to provide the technology for sports book. Meanwhile, an initial fiscal impact statement by the legislative staff leaves a big question of how much this will actually cost and that not offering sports betting could save the lottery some money in development and operating costs.
On the other hand, the lottery estimates that the state could lose between $28-$63 million if it prohibits sports betting.
Meanwhile the Oregon lottery is aging and reliant on video lottery technology. It is also the state’s second largest source of government revenue. The lottery management sees sports betting as a way to up its game and increase revenues. But the younger demographic that it hopes to attract use mobile platforms for almost everything, including betting.
At the same time the Lottery’s decision in March to put its eggs in the basket of the foreign-based SB Tech brought about a protest from one of the firms that lost the bid, Scientific Games. That company filed a protest claiming that SB Tech operates illegally in some states that forbid gambling.
The state government has already committed to using sports betting revenues to help pay down the state’s $27 million unfunded pension liability.
