Oregon June Sports Betting Posted Double-Digit Revenue Growth

Sports betting revenue in Oregon was on the rise in June, the monthly report released by the Oregon Lottery revealed. The state posted a double-digit increase in revenue on a sequential base.

Steady Revenue Growth

The Scoreboard, a sports betting product powered by Boston-based sportsbook and industry technology supplier DraftKings and run by the Oregon Lottery, saw gross gaming revenue in the state reach $2.8 million in June, up 17% compared to the $2.4 million the Beaver State registered in May.

When compared to the June 2020 reading of $777,903, a period during which sports events across the board were almost entirely decimated by the outbreak of the coronavirus, the increase looks even more impressive. Bettors in the state wagered $24.9 million in total handle for the month, down 10% to the $27.7 million in May, and the higher revenue posted from the lower handle suggested June brought a higher operator margin.

There was a distinct preference for basketball in June, as the sport accounted for almost half of the total number of bets, 301,000 transactions out of 665,000, to bring in $12.9 million of the total handle and $1.5 million in revenue, and the sport accounted for a 12% operator margin.

Second-placed baseball generated 150,000 transactions to bring in $5.6 million in total wagers and $338,972 in revenue, while the third-placed sport, ice hockey, fell short of the million-mark in wagers, at $933,670, and accounted for just $142,328 in revenue to the Oregon Lottery.

Pre-Match Betting Preferred

The state lottery report revealed that the majority of bets, two-thirds or 440,889, were placed pre-match, to bring in $12.9 million in turnover and contribute to $1.7 million in revenue. Live bets, despite being just one-third of the total, accounted for $12 million in handle and $1.1 million in revenue, suggesting the average amount of a live bet was much higher than the average amount of a pre-match wager.

Legal sports betting in the Beaver State launched in 2019 after the Oregon Lottery went live with the Scoreboard app powered by DraftKings. The app is the only legal online sports betting option in the state, while tribal casinos are allowed to offer retail sportsbook operations at their venues.