The Oregon Lottery’s much-anticipated online sports betting platform, Scoreboard, debuted October 17.
Since its launch, more than 18,000 players have registered for accounts and wagered more than $1 million.
Although bettors can withdraw the proceeds of winning wagers from their Oregon Lottery Scoreboard accounts at any time, some players may see a significant gap between the time a wager is won and when the money actually appears in their accounts.
A number of conditions apply to the release of all winnings from the Oregon Lottery. These include state and federal taxes, offsets or overpayments of state resources, and back child support.
State and federal taxes for Oregon sports betting
According to Scoreboard’s terms and conditions, the lottery is not only legally required to report winnings to state and federal tax authorities, but the lottery may also be required to deduct taxes from winnings before depositing the balance into a player’s account.
Scoreboard’s state tax terms are as follows:
- Net winnings greater than $600 – a WG2 form is provided for state tax reporting purposes at the time of payment.
- Net winnings equal to or greater than $1,500 – a state tax of eight percent will be withheld.
Scoreboard’s federal tax terms are as follows:
A WG2 form will be provided to Scoreboard players at the time of payment for federal tax reporting purposes if:
- Net winnings are equal to or greater than $600, and
- At least 300 times the amount of the bet, or
- Net winnings are greater than $5,000
Oregon Lottery will withhold a 24 percent federal tax if net winnings exceed $5,000.
Offsets for Oregon winnings
According to Scoreboard’s Terms and Conditions, the lottery may be required by state law to make deductions to repay certain state debts and back child support.
If a player’s gross winnings are above $600, the lottery will check databases to see whether the winner owes any back child support.
In addition, House Bill 2393, which took effect Jan. 1, 2019, authorizes the Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority to garnish taxable winnings to recover overpayments of Medicaid, welfare, and food stamps.
Under the new law, garnishment will be applied to delinquent child support before other debts. The lottery is authorized to act as direct collector for back child support.
However, if databases show that overpayments of state resources are due, the lottery is required to withhold winnings up to 30 days to allow human services or Medicaid representatives to request a garnishment on winnings to recover overpayments.
If debts owed are less than the amount won, the difference will be deposited into the player’s account, where it can be withdrawn.
Other account information in Oregon
Scoreboard’s terms and conditions state that any deposits in excess of $250,000 are not insured by the FDIC, or any other entity.
In addition, the following conditions apply to Scoreboard accounts:
- Money deposited into funding accounts does not accrue interest.
- Bonuses appear as funds in a player’s balance. They may be used to play games, but have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn.
- The lottery must verify the accuracy of bettors’ personal information before paying out bets.
- Scoreboard may close accounts that remain inactive for an extended period of time. Any money remaining in the account may revert back to the state, after the lottery makes a reasonable effort to contact the player.
Out-of-state bettors
Players can register for a Scoreboard account from any state, but must be physically located within the state of Oregon and off tribal-owned land to make a wager.
If, however, an out-of-state resident visiting Oregon places a wager on Scoreboard and wins any amount of money, the lottery is required to withhold 30 percent of the winnings in federal withholding taxes.
The State of Oregon will withhold eight percent of any non-resident winnings of more than $1,500.
