All You Need to Know about Legal Online Gambling in Oregon

Oregon Online Gambling Become Legal

On a federal level, two acts made a crucial impact on the gambling industry:

• The 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibited sports betting on a federal level. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that PASPA was unconstitutional. But Oregon enjoyed a partial exemption from this regulation even before that. That’s because the Lottery had been offering NFL parlay bets since 1989.
• The 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which prohibits online casinos to accept deposits for gambling. The act excludes fantasy sports from the definition of gambling and is somewhat unclear towards horse racing.

There is no specific state legislation that bans Oregon online casinos. However, the UIGEA is still valid on a federal level. It makes it illegal for operators to accept wagers online.

Section 167.109, related to Internet gambling, says: “A person engaged in an Internet gambling business may not knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful gambling using the Internet: credit or the proceeds of credit, an electronic funds transfer, any check, or the proceeds of any other forms of financial transaction.”

The Oregon Gaming Commission cannot issue licenses to traditional online casinos. The law leaves some space for legal online poker. Delaware, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New Jersey gambling markets benefited from the opportunity to legalize it. Oregon is still not on that path.

There aren’t any specific online sweepstakes gambling laws. Sweepstakes sites, such as Chumba and MyVegas, fall in the gray area of gambling.

In 2019, the Oregon City Council banned the development of new sweepstake terminal cafes. Councilman Tim Zale said that they discovered four online sweepstake cafes in Oregon, which were not regulated in any way. The City Council imposed a moratorium, so they would discuss potential regulations on the sweepstake industry.

The good news is that there are no regulations that prosecute individuals for gambling online. This makes offshore sites an option, although many gamblers consider it risky.

Is Online Sports Betting Legal in Oregon?

In August 2019, Oregon joined the growing group of states that legalized the sports betting industry. In September, Chinook Winds, the first sportsbook, was launched by a tribal gaming facility. In October, Scoreboard was launched as the first betting app. It is associated with the Oregon Lottery. Currently, there are no other options for online wagering and sports betting apps.

Sportsbooks are available in several tribal casinos, including Chinook Winds, Indian Head, The Mill, Seven Feathers, and more.

What Types of Wagers Do Oregon Online Betting Sites Offer

The Oregon gaming industry started developing through racing. Since the legislation was liberal towards licensed poker clubs, they began operating in 1973. In addition to the poker clubs, which are somewhat controversial, nine tribal casinos freely operate within the state. They have been legalized under the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act of 1988.

But what if you want to play for real money online? These are your options:

✔ Horse racing bets

Oregon was the first state to legalize online horse race betting in 1997. All forms of horse betting are regulated by the Oregon Racing Commission. BetAmerica, TVG, Xpressbet, and a few other sites offer legal online horse betting for residents of the state.

✔ DFS contests

Although there is no specific legislation regulating DFS in the state, the operators are allowed to offer their services in Oregon. DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo Daily Fantasy, Monkey Knife Fight, FantasyDraft, and Boom Fantasy are free to accept Oregon DFS players.

✔ Lottery games

Keno, draw games, scratch-offs, and other games are enabled through the mobile app of the Oregon Lottery.

✔ Sports betting online

The Oregon Lottery is the only provider of online sports betting through its service Scoreboard. Single, live, parlay wagering, and all other types of sports bets are allowed.

Legal Online Casinos in Oregon

Since it’s illegal for operators to accept wagers online, the state does not issue any operator licenses for online gambling.

Currently, there aren’t any movements among legislators that give us hope to move forward in this industry.

In 2012, there was an attempt for legalizing commercial casinos through the Oregon Privately-Owned Casinos Amendment, Measure 82. However, the measure did not pass, so privately-owned casinos are still banned. The attitude of legislators towards the overall industry of gambling in Oregon gives us little hope for any online options to be liberalized in the near future.

Oregon Social Casino Sites

Social casinos are not specifically banned to accept Oregon players. They are available through Facebook and various websites/apps. The most popular options include Zynga, Big Fish, Double Down Casino, Slotomania, and Chumba.

The tribal casinos, which operate within the State of Oregon, are not affiliated with any of these sites. This means that you cannot earn points that you would be able to use for real gambling in one of those casinos.

MyVEGAS, as one of the most popular social casino games, enables the players to earn rewards that can be redeemed at MGM Resorts destinations. These prizes include show tickets, meals, hotel rooms, and more. They make social gambling attractive since you keep your eye on a goal after all. But none of the participating properties are close to Oregon. This is why social casino sites are not so popular in the state.

Play Poker Online in Oregon

Oregon does not allow any real money gambling sites to operate for its citizens. Currently, the legislation does not work in favor of online poker rooms.

In 2013, Governor John Kitzhaber said that he opposed the expansion of the online gambling industry. Kate Brown, the current Governor of Oregon, does not agree with additional land-based casinos gaining new licenses in the state. Her attitude towards online gambling is even less favorable.

Unlike a few states that legalized poker sites despite all other forms of online gambling is banned, Oregon stays low-key with its policies.

Oregon Lottery Offers

The Oregon Lottery has great sports betting app called Scoreboard. You can sign up online or download the iOS or Android app. It doesn’t allow you to gamble online in the real sense of the word. However, now that sports betting is not banned across the United States, you can use the opportunity to wager on a huge selection of sports.

The Scoreboard platform includes all leagues of soccer, baseball, table tennis, Nascar, basketball, MMA, football, and more. There’s a live betting option, too.

The official website of Oregon Lottery allows you to play games of chance, too: Mega Millions, Powerball, Oregon’s Game Megabucks, Win for Life, and Pick 4. The games are scheduled at specified times, and the website gives you all that info.

The Daily Fantasy Sports Trend in Oregon

It took a long time before we saw sports betting online legalized in Oregon. But with daily fantasy sports, the legal framework hasn’t been that restrictive.

DraftKings and FanDuel are the most popular platforms offering legal DFS games in Oregon. You have a few other options: Yahoo Daily Fantasy, Monkey Knife Fight, FantasyDraft, and Boom Fantasy.

You can join salary cap contests, guaranteed prize pools, cash games, leagues, and other types of DFS games. This is a game of skill, so you should do your research before creating a fantasy team and investing real money in it.

Oregon Land-Based Casinos

Yes; Oregon has nine real money gambling destinations. All of them are tribal casinos that offer table games and slots. Commercial casinos are not allowed to operate in the country. There has been a discussion around their legalization, but no moves were made.

These are the tribal casinos in Oregon:

• Chinook Winds Casino & Convention Center
• Indian Head Casino, Warm Springs,
• Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, Chiloquin
• Old Camp Casino, Burns
• Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort, Canyonville
• Spirit Mountain Casino, Grand Ronde
• Three Rivers Casino, Florence
• Three Rivers Casino, Coos Bay
• Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Pendleton

Charity poker tournaments are allowed in the tribal casinos, but in individual poker rooms as well. Poker clubs are allowed to exist as long as the house or an individual doesn’t profit by running them.

These are the popular poker rooms in Oregon:

• Full House Poker, Eugene
• Grants Pass Poker Room, Grant Pass
• Medford Poker Room, Medford
• Final Table Poker Club, Portland
• Ontario Poker Room and Social Club, Ontario
• Black Diamond Card Room, Albany, and more

Deposit and Withdraw from Oregon Gambling Sites

The only legal online games are DFS, horse race betting, sports betting, and Oregon Lottery options. Keep in mind that classic casino games are not available through regulated and licensed Oregon websites. That being said, social gambling is an option. You can do it via desktop and mobile. The banking methods are similar across sites.

It takes a couple of minutes for you to create a real profile on the site of your choice. Make sure to use correct information, since you’ll go through an identification verifying process before being able to withdraw your winnings. If you plan to use a rewards program, pay attention to the associated terms and conditions.

These are the common banking methods on online gambling sites:

• E-Wallets
• Credit and debit cards
• Bank transfer
• PayNearMe