Senate Bill 1503 would legalize sports betting on college sports through the Oregon Lottery and DraftKings.
Residents of the state are currently limited to placing bets on professional sports contents. Not on college sports. The bill, by Senate President Peter Courtney, would allow bets on outcomes of college sports games.
The original bill was amended to disallow bets on individual athlete performances and to earmark proceeds toward a needs-based grant program for college students. Courtney estimates this could benefit 3,000 students per year and “stabilize and permanently fund Opportunity Grants in a very powerful way.”
Courtney argues that college sports betting is already occurring on the black market. Legalizing it would protect consumers, he said.
Opposition has formed from gaming tribes. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde argue that the bill will drain money from tribal gaming, i.e. “taking money out of tribes’ pockets.” Currently there is college sports betting on the reservation, but not on the Lottery.
Senator Courtney demurs with that conclusion. “In no way does this bill take away from casinos, casino betting at all,” he said.
Problem Gaming activists are calling for the creation of a task force to study gaming in the state and whether regulations need an overhaul.
Kitty Martz, executive director of Voices of Problem Gambling Recovery, declared, “We’re becoming widely known in the gambling industry as the wild west, where anything goes with gambling in Oregon.”
