Happy Monday, everyone. Sports betting news was mostly dominated by legislative updates and state reports last week, which is typical for this time of year.

Feb 22, 2021 Full Canada sports betting inches forward. One of last week’s top sports betting stories was news from our northern neighbor. A bill that would remove a federal ban on single-game sports betting in Canada progressed through its second hearing vote last week by a significant 303-15 margin Wednesday.

The LSR Podcast broke down some of those biggest state reports and looked at a recap of reported Super Bowl 55 handle so far.

The state legislative updates will be coming fast and furiously through early summer at this point. Make sure to follow @LSPReport on Twitter to get those updates as we cover them.

• Oregon Lottery Scoreboard is your trusted online sportsbook. 100% legal, the latest and best odds and all major US & International sports including professional football, basketball, baseball, golf, soccer.
• Current Online Sports Betting Situation in the USA. Right now, full-on sports betting is available legally in Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia, Mississippi, New Mexico, and more states (see our map above to check your home state).
• Individuals who are new to online sports gambling fail to realize how important a website’s customer service system is. Oregon is currently in the process of launching a state-run sports betting website.
• Mar 06, 2020 Sports bettors from Maryland could be placing legal sports bets soon, pending adoption of legislation to implement the recently passed sports betting referendum. Legislation to end the prohibition of sports betting has been proposed to Minnesota state lawmakers, but no legalization bills have been voted into law.

Top sports betting news: Michigan quick off online start line

Sports betting in Michigan launched last March just before the coronavirus pandemic, but that was only retail. Everyone knew the true test of the market would come once online went live.

Michigan certainly didn’t disappoint with $115.2 million bet online in the first 10 days. That led to $13.3 million in gross sports betting revenue, which drastically dropped to a loss of $5.2 million once promos were deducted. No doubt the market was spurred by the simultaneous launch of online casino gaming, which had $29.4 million in gross revenue during those 10 days.

Even more telling than the total handle was who took those bets. While there were 11 sportsbooks live in those 10 days, four showed early potential to become a market leader.

FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, Barstool Sportsbook and BetMGM combined for 96.4% of total handle and 93.2% of total gross revenue.

IL, NJ, PA release latest numbers too

We also saw sports betting revenue reports out of three of the top US sports betting jurisdictions last week:

• Illinois‘ gaming regulators finally graced all of us with their December report, which showed a new record of $492 million bet. Hold dropped to 5.7% from 8.2% in November, though, which meant IL sports betting revenue fell to $28.4 million.
• New Jersey sports betting set a new revenue record with $82.6 million in January while handle fell 4% from December to $958.7 million.
• Pennsylvania sportsbooks took a record $615.3 million in bets last month, which was up 12.2% from its previous record set in December.

Full Canada sports betting inches forward

One of last week’s top sports betting stories was news from our northern neighbor.

A bill that would remove a federal ban on single-game sports betting in Canada progressed through its second hearing vote last week by a significant 303-15 margin Wednesday.

The bill now moves to the Justice Committee where it gets a third hearing this week. A vote on that hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Virginia sports betting bills head to conference again

Virginia‘s two legislative chambers just cannot agree on VA sports betting details.

Just like last year, both chambers insisted on their version of bills that would tweak the state’s sports betting law. What’s potentially frustrating for those sponsors is the bills are simply cleaning up language from last year’s enabling legislation.

The proposal, which could see final approval this week if the conference works quickly, would exempt mobile sports betting licenses connected with casinos in the state from the maximum cap of 12 mobile-only licenses. Betting on the Olympics and more would also be approved through the legislation.

Good sportsbooks steal trademarks, great sportsbooks register them?

Barstool Sportsbook is accused of stealing content by a competitor.

Portnoy tweeted a letter sent from Westgate Superbook ordering the brand to stop using its trademarked “Good teams win, great teams cover” phrase.

Portnoy said there’s no chance Westgate invented the saying, which might be true. That has nothing to do with infringing on a trademark, of course, that Westgate successfully registered in 2012.

Vermont tries again for legal sports betting

The latest effort to legalize sports betting in Vermont is now live in the state legislature.

This year’s bill would authorize up to six mobile sportsbooks as well as retail betting through the state lottery.

The state needs to do something soon if it wants to stay ahead of local competition. Vermont has four borders – Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and the province of Quebec in Canada – that could all have legal single-game mobile betting by the end of this year.

BetMGM sports betting partnership with Topgolf

A new partnership between BetMGM and Topgolf Entertainment will see the two collaborate on marketing and promotional offers.

The agreement includes select Topgolf locations where sports betting is legal and within online golf game WGT.

Locations where the partnership will first launch include Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Nashville and Virginia Beach.

WynnBET partners with Genius Sports

Online Sports Betting In Oregon 2019

The expanding WynnBET-branded interactive segment of Wynn Resorts will now get its data from Genius Sports.

The agreement includes data for NASCAR, the English Premier League and hundreds of other sports organizations.

The deal spans multiple states, beginning with WynnBET’s live operations in Colorado, Michigan and New Jersey with more states to follow.

Wynn is working toward more state launches before the NFL season kicks off later this year.

The path Oregon follows as a state often mirrors that of its neighbor to the north – Washington. The Pacific Northwest states share a similar ethos – laid-back and free. With regard to gambling, Oregon’s laws and acceptance have grown in a rather organic way – moving from low-key social games to the situation today.

With that being said, it joined the list of states with legal, regulated Oregon sports betting on August 27.

Sweepstakes casinos in Oregon

Social casino options

Social casino options in Oregon are typical. Slotomania, Double Down Casino, Big Fish, and Zynga are available through Facebook and mobile devices to residents and visitors. Unfortunately, none of the tribal casino properties in the state offer any kind of mobile or social gaming tied to their properties or affiliated with a larger site.

Oregonians can also participate in MyVegas. This is MGM’s free comps app that players can use to generate loyalty points. These can then be redeemed for actual comps at participating properties. None of the redeeming properties are particularly close to Oregon. It does, however, remain an option for those who want to make the two-hour flight or 15-hour drive to Las Vegas.

Online gambling

Oregon’s stance on online gambling mirrors that of many states. There are no specific prohibitions against playing over the internet. However, it is illegal for the operators themselves to accept wagers. Therefore, gambling on the internet in Oregon is the same legally hazy proposition it is in many states. Therefore, it is not recommended. The only exception to this rule is betting on horse racing, which is allowed online in Oregon.

At this point, there doesn’t seem to be any movement in the legislature toward legalizing any kind of wagering beyond the pari-mutuel exception. Furthermore, the recent rejection of placing commercial casinos in the state does not bode well for the development of online options.

However, there is some variation in the pari-mutuel offerings. Games like Racing Roulette and 1 2 3 Pick N Pools suggest a possible route for online development, akin to allowing gambling to occur under the heading of lottery in other states.

The Oregon Lottery and sports betting

The mobile app for the Oregon Lottery went live on Sept. 11, 2018, and is available for purchase for both Android and iOS users.

The app has decent features–users can check if they won or lost on various games including scratch-offs, draw games and Keno.

Lane-based sports betting kicked off on Aug. 27, 2019, at Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City. Owned and operated by the Siletz Tribe, the facility offers retail wageringonly on professional and collegiate sports.

Oregon is the 12th state with legal, regulated sports betting.

Lottery officials are in the process of programming their lottery app to work with online sports betting service Scoreboard. However, they did not hit their target date of NFL season kickoff, and the launch is delayed so that the app launches in a fully functional state rather than rushed. The Oregon Lottery is still awaiting authorization from payment processors, and it aims to roll out the betting app in October.

Additionally, betting on college sports will be prohibited.

State casino operator history

Oregon’s first foray into gambling began, as it does in many states, with racing – both horses and dogs. Greyhounds raced at Multnomah Stadium from 1933 to 2004. Races were then discontinued due to lack of interest. However, both live horse racing and OTB options continue in the state.

One of the state’s major gambling offerings began humbly in 1973. The legislature permitted the introduction of licensed poker clubs. The caveat was that no rake could be collected from the pots by the house. As long as the individual localities passed ordinances to allow them within their area, the businesses could open and serve Oregonians. Roughly 15 of these establishments operate in Oregon today. The clubs operate under controversy, in no small part due to their main source of competition.

The primary venues for gambling in Oregon are its nine tribal casinos. Since the passage of the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act of 1988, federally recognized tribes have been able to negotiate compacts with their resident states to allow the construction and operation of various casino properties. The Pacific Northwest is home to many tribes. In fact, neighboring Washington’s largest city, Seattle, is named after one of the tribal chiefs who inhabited the area. Unsurprisingly, many Oregon tribes were able to negotiate with the state.

The number of casinos in Oregon has stayed at or near nine since the IGRA was passed. Other tribes (like the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) have had casinos in the past, but some have closed and others have taken their place.

Land-based casino options in Oregon

Oregon Sports Action Lottery

The result is the nine casinos that operate today. Almost every casino is operated by a separate tribe. The one exception is the Three Rivers casinos in Florence and Coos Bay. These are owned by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians of Oregon. These casinos are able to offer almost any type of gambling to patrons. However, the slot machines are technically video lottery terminals. These are almost indistinguishable from actual slot machines, but they pool their proceeds in a manner specific to the state lottery and are thus considered legal extensions of that offering.

The biggest hurdle for all tribal casinos in Oregon is geographic in nature. Oregon’s largest city, Portland, is in the extreme northern part of the state. It is located far from any Oregon reservation lands. This means Portland residents are less inclined to frequent these establishments. The nearest Oregon casino to Portland is Chinook Winds, which is over two hours away.

Land-based casino options in nearby Washington

This problem is exacerbated by the fact that Portland also sits near the Columbia River, which is Oregon’s border with Washington. As such, the nearest casino to Portland is actually The Last Frontier Casino in La Center, Washington. It’s a mere 26 miles from the city center. Even UBET, another Washington casino, is only an hour away from Oregon’s most populated area.

So far, attempts to build off-reservation casinos in Oregon have failed. Currently, no tribe or entity is pursuing the matter. The last group that did, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, abandoned its efforts to build a resort in the Columbia River Gorge in 2013. However, Portlanders are not suffering from a lack of options for scratching their itch. Remember, legal poker clubs are alive and well in the city, and two casinos are less than an hour away.

Tribal casinos

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Licensed poker clubs

State legal environment