Oregon's Online Sports Betting and Casino Revenue: One Sportsbook and 9 Tribal Casinos
Oregon's long history with sports betting
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, better known as "PASPA," is often described as having banned sports betting outside of Nevada "with only a few minor exceptions."
One of those exceptions was the state of Oregon, which in 1989 had legalized multi-leg parlay wagers on anywhere from four to a then-maximum 14 NFL games against a standard point spread.
The details of PASPA were such that states were "grandfathered in" to continue or resume specific gambling activity that had been previously authorized, if the state chose to do so.
The state lottery-managed parlay game known as "Sports Action" in Oregon continued until the state legislature banned the wagering as of 2007. That was in response to the NCAA's stance at the time on refusing to choose states as hosts for "March Madness" men's college basketball tournament games in any state that offered legal sports betting.
The aftermath of the NCAA's earlier position still lingers in Oregon, a unique state in that it bans wagering on college sporting events - not just those taking place within the state or on games involving state schools.
The exception, as of 2026, is at the state's tribal casinos, although none of them are anywhere near Portland - by far the state's largest city. Those casinos so far have successfully lobbied to continue the ban on wagering on college sports on the state's lone authorized mobile wagering app.
Only legal sportsbook running the online betting show in Oregon
After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 voided PASPA and opened the door for any state to offer Las Vegas-style sports betting, the Oregon Lottery Commission a year later elected to award a betting contract to operator SBTech.
A gaming industry giant purchased SBTech, and in 2022 it became the state's sole legal sportsbook - mirroring the scenario in New Hampshire. Both states also charge the same 51% tax on gross betting revenue.
Oregon's one-stop-shop mobile sports betting industry has grown steadily over the years. In 2022, the betting "handle" - the amount wagered - was nearly $500 million, and the sportsbook’s gross revenue from that was nearly $50 million.
In 2023, the handle grew to $635.6 million while the revenue climbed to $75.7 million. A year later, the handle was $864.9 million with revenue of $94.4 million.
Then in 2025, a state-record hold percentage of 12.5% produced $115.9 million in revenue for the sportsbook off $926.9 million in wagers.
The March 2025 hold percentage of 10.5% was perhaps the highest in the nation, as sportsbooks in states with authorized wagering on "March Madness" college basketball were severely hampered by the fact that the favorites won every single game in the last three rounds of the tournament.
None of Oregon’s four Division I men's college basketball teams are prominent on the national stage, which lessens the pressure on lawmakers to legalize college betting as a way to appease local alumni.
Finally, the state's $1.3 million in revenue generated on Super Bowl Sunday 2026 was less than half what the state lottery pocketed a year earlier. The reason? The Seattle Seahawks - the favorite NFL team among Oregon residents - won the Super Bowl.
Casinos in Oregon
There are no commercial casinos in Oregon, but residents and visitors aged 21 and over can gamble at any of the nine tribal casinos scattered across the state.
The closest Oregon casino to the Portland area is Spirit Mountain, located about 60 miles to the south and west of the city limits in Grand Ronde. (Ilani Casino Resort is a bit closer, for those content to head north across the state border to Ridgefield, WA.)
Spirit Mountain is by far the largest casino in Oregon, with more than 90,000 square feet of gambling space. Seven Feathers Casino Resort, at 68,000 square feet, is the largest casino in southern Oregon and attracts more than 1 million visitors annually.
The Cow Creek Bingo Hall that opened in 1992 in Canyonville was a pioneer for Oregon gambling, with video lottery terminals (VLTs) - similar to slot machines launching at the site two years later.
By the end of 1995, five other tribes also had opened casino facilities in the state - with only blackjack as a table game. Negotiations with state officials over the next two years ultimately allowed for a full slate of table games at the tribal casinos.
The state's lottery also authorizes more than 10,000 VLTs across roughly 2,500 licensed bars and restaurants, but often with only one or two machines per establishment.
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