Oregon Lottery Mobile Sports Betting Isn’t Ready for NFL Kickoff

But Oregon has its first sportsbook, at a coastal casino.

Bears vs. Packers. (Paul Cutler / Wikimedia Commons)
By Nigel Jaquiss

When the NFL's regular season kicks off Sept. 5, Oregonians will not be able to bet legally on games on their smartphones, as the Oregon Lottery had hoped.

Earlier this year, lottery officials pointed to the NFL opener as the likely go-live date for smartphone-based betting. But Kerry Hemphill, the lottery's manager of sports betting, told the Lottery Commission on Aug. 30 that despite having 40 employees working full time on the app, it's still being tested and won't be ready until late September or mid-October.

Meanwhile, the Siletz tribe's Chinook Winds Casino last week opened the first sportsbook in Oregon, taking wagers on college football—which the lottery won't do, at least initially. (Chinook Winds does not offer phone-based betting; gamblers must travel to the Lincoln City casino.)

Lottery Commission chair MardiLyn Saathoff expressed disappointment with the delay but added, "It's better to get it right."

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