Oregon State Lottery Reports 293% Increase in Sports Betting Revenue
-855x458.jpg?v=7)
The gross gaming revenue (GGR) from sports wagering has recorded a huge jump in 2021. According to Oregon Lottery, the sports wagering revenue recorded a 293% increase year-over-year to stand at $2.4m this May. The state’s handle also recorded a 280% rise to settle at $27.7m.
Gross Gaming Revenue for May Records an Increase YoY
Oregon Lottery released its monthly report on sports betting and sportsbooks recorded an increase in the GGR. According to the report, the gross gaming revenue by Scoreboard showed an increase compared to the $598,061 recorded during the same period the previous year.
Last year’s numbers suffered significantly due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic that limited players to only a few wagering options. This was after the pandemic caused the cancellation of numerous sporting events.
Having said that, the revenue recorded in May dropped to $2.3m. This represented an 11.1% drop from the $2.7m recorded in April 2021.
While the gaming revenue recorded a drop, sports betting activity recorded an increase. According to the report by the state’s Lottery, punters wagered over $27.7m in various sporting events. This represented a 9.5% increase after April recorded $25.3m.
Basketball Dominates The Number of Wagers in May
When it comes to consumer spending, Oregon’s handle climbed significantly by 9.5% year-over-year, with punters wagering $27.7m. This is higher than the $25.3m recorded in April. Basketball dominated the state’s sports betting. The report by the state’s lottery showed the punters placed $16.1m in basketball bets. This contributes close to 60% of the entire gambling market in May at $1.5m in gross gaming revenue.
Baseball, on the other hand, contributed $4.6m of the total wagers placed in May. This bet amount raked $216,694 in GGR. Soccer came in third, contributing $2.4m in bets and contributing $245,843 in GGR.
In terms of the bet types, May saw punters place $21m in teaser and single bets. This is compared to the $7.7m in system and combo bets. As for the pre-match and live bets, the report indicated an almost level amount of money wagered on both types of bets. But pre-match bets took the upper hand with 510,989 wagers placed before the match while live wagers settled at 280,188.
Excessive Limiting Due to Single-Sourcing Leading to Lower Numbers
The Oregon sports betting market features only one operator, the Scoreboard, powered by Draftkings. However, legislators in the state are preparing a bill that will liberalize the market. As a result of single-sourcing, there’s excessive limiting compared to other regulated markets. Consequently, this results in a lower number of bets and GGR compared to whether punters had a variety of sportsbooks to choose from.
Bill HB 2127 is already before the Oregon assembly but there has been no word on the bill’s progress, which was read for the first time in January 2021. Should the bill pass in the house, the task of regulating the gambling industry in the state will be transferred to the Oregon Racing Commission from Oregon Lottery. This will allow both retail and mobile betting not forgetting new betting platforms to operate.
The good news is that Kate Brown, Oregon’s Governor, has expressed her support to liberalize the market. This is despite the legislature dragging its feet in discussing it. Until then, Oregon punters will have to stick to the Scoreboard app.
-200x150.png?v=7 "GoodLuckMate Talks With Christina Muratkina, CEO of Onlyplay")
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
