DraftKings Sportsbook is making another big move in the US sports betting industry, and it’s also a big move for the state of Oregon. The Oregon Lottery unanimously decided to partner with DraftKings as the sportsbook provider, making a switch from SBTech and the Scoreboard platform.
There have been rumors of this change taking place for months, but the Lottery Commission just made this official this week. SBTech has been the sports betting provider in Oregon since the industry launched, but it was also holding the market back.
SBTech and DraftKings completed a merger last year, and this switch has been in the works for quite some time in Oregon. There have been many complaints filed against SBTech by sports bettors in Oregon, but switching to DraftKings should solve some of those issues.
Date of Switch is Unknown
The Oregon Lottery does not yet have a target date set for the switch to DraftKings, but it would benefit from doing so sooner rather than later. The NFL season is set to begin on September 9, and the NBA will be starting at the end of October.
The NFL is clearly the most popular sports betting market in the US, but the NBA is not too far behind. Coming up with a plan to make this a seamless transition is one of the tasks facing the Oregon Lottery at this time, and it could take weeks before it comes into play.
Oregon Struggling to Keep Up
Oregon posted $25 million in total sports betting handle in June, which was still extremely low in comparison to other states of its size. Iowa has almost one million fewer people than Oregon but is’ total betting handle in June was almost $90 million more than Oregon.
One key factor that is holding the state of Oregon back is that betting on college sporting events is not offered in the state. College basketball and college football are two of the most popular betting markets in the US, but that is not an option in Oregon.
Switching to DraftKings should help boost the overall size of the Oregon market, but there is still a major issue. DraftKings will be the only online sports betting provider, and a lack of competition will keep the state from taking off.
Entire Industry Looking For Bounce Back
The month of July was not kind to the US sports betting industry as a number of states had extremely low totals when it came to both handle and revenue. Most states in the US saw more than a 20 percent drop in total sports betting handle, and this is always a slow month for professional sports.
Even the leaders like New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania failed to even challenge the totals from earlier in the year, but this is going to change beginning in September. Oregon should start to see a boost in the overall numbers as well, but it is going to take a while before it starts to climb up the list.
