Oregon was one of the states grandfathered in when the sports betting rules changed in the United States, but it is not one of the leaders in the industry. Sports betting numbers have been on the rise in the state, and mobile betting has led the way.
Oregon set a new sports betting record last month by posting a sports betting handle total of $29.45 million during October. That is an increase of almost $3.3 million from September, which was the previous record.
These numbers fall well short of some of the top sports betting industries in the United States, but it shows Oregon’s progress. This state offers a single source for sports betting, and that severely hinders the overall growth of the industry.
Total revenue was also up more than 80 percent month-over-month, and the total was $2.751 million in October.
Football Leading the Way
It should come as no surprise that football was the most popular sport to bet on during October. Football brought in more than $12.1 million last month, which was more than double any other sport. 
Baseball ($4.8 million), basketball ($4.4 million), soccer ($3.5 million), and table tennis ($1.2 million) rounded out the top five in terms of betting handle. Football is expected to continue to lead the way over the next two months.
There were over 903,000 total bets made during October, and 645,000 of them were pre-game wagers.
No College Sports Betting
Oregon is missing out on a large chunk of revenue, especially now that the Pac-12 Conference has started to play college football. Betting on NCAA sporting events is prohibited through the Scoreboard app, and the state is leaving money on the table.
Betting on college football is the second most popular sport to bet on in the United States, right behind the NFL. Tribal casinos in the state can offer to bet on college football games, but much of the betting is done online in Oregon.
The Oregon Ducks are one of the top teams in the country this season, and they would drive sports betting in the state. Basketball is also extremely popular in the Pac-12, but betting on that sport won’t be offered either.
Issues Still Remain
The Oregon State Lottery is in charge of the sports betting industry in the state, and it only allows a single operator. Other states have similar sports betting rules and regulations, and all of them have fallen short of projections.
One of the biggest issues is that having only one operator removes the healthy competition from the industry, affecting the odds for sports bettors. Technical difficulties have also happened on the sports betting app, which completely shuts down the industry until those issues are resolved.
It doesn’t appear as if the Oregon State Lottery is willing to make any changes to the sports betting regulation, and these issues will remain going forward.
