Oregon’s sports betting numbers from September are in and looking promising.
Oregon sports betting revenue essentially doubled from August, skyrocketing from $2.7 million to $5.5 million in September. Last month, the state recorded a sports betting handle of $39.3 million – a 39.4% jump from August.
Overall, September’s handle was a 57.2% increase from that same month last year ($25 million in 2021). It’s a sign that while the sports betting season is just ramping up, the industry as a whole displayed promising growth in just a year.
Football dominated September sports betting in Oregon
As expected, football was the favorite sport for Oregon sports bettors in September. The Oregon Ducks started their college football season on Sept. 3 against Georgia. Since then, the Ducks are off to a 6-1 start, generating plenty of excitement for in-state bettors.
Additionally, the NFL season kicked off. There’s no shortage of professional teams near Oregon with several teams calling nearby states home:
- The Seattle Seahawks
- Las Angeles Rams
- LA Chargers
- Las Vegas Raiders
$14.8 million of September’s total came from football bets, producing $3.3 million in revenue. Baseball dominated in August, and then fell to No. 2. Oregon sports bettors gambled $11.2 million on baseball. The sport generated $1.1 million in revenue.
Soccer rounded out the state’s top three sports in terms of popularity, with $4.6 million in wagers and $300,293 in revenue.
September numbers show a favorable jump from August
Oregon’s sports betting handle started to dip in June when the state racked up $34 million – a 16.2% drop from May. In July, that number fell to $28.5 million before dropping by nearly $300,000 to $28.2 million in August.
It’s a welcome sign after a natural depression in sports betting numbers, which coincides with football’s offseason. Most states across the country saw a drop off in the summer months, as Major League Baseball was the lone active sport out of the country’s big three of football, basketball and baseball.
Single and teaser bets proved to be the most popular form of sports betting in September, as Oregonians gambled $28.1 million on those formats. Bettors placed $11.2 million on parlays last month, too.
DraftKings is Oregon’s lone sports betting provider
As a reminder, there’s just one legal sportsbook in Oregon: DraftKings.
The Oregon Lottery originally partnered with SBTech to operate its Scoreboard online sportsbook in 2019. In 2022, however, the lottery announced Scoreboard and DraftKings were “combining forces to provide the best sports betting experience ever,” according to its website.
That announcement marked Oregon as the 16th state DraftKings called home.
Will there be other sports betting operators in Oregon?
As of now, no. But there’s growing opposition to DraftKings’ monopoly within the state.
Sport Oregon is a group pushing for the state to walk away from the monopoly and expand with other sportsbooks. Big names such as Adidas, Nike and the Portland Trailblazers back Sport Oregon.
It would take some major lobbying and time, but there’s a chance we see the Oregon sports betting industry shift to include other sportsbooks.
