This week the state of Oregon became one of only a select eight states thus far in the US that will have a live sports betting application running. They will also be included in a group which has now grown to twelve states with an app offering legal mobile betting. The state lottery has high hopes for this application and has set their estimated figures for expected wagers on $300 million during their first year.
Oregon Lottery Spokesperson, Matt Shelby still recalls the days way back when he was still a college student contemplating on his picks for the week without blowing all his beer money. It was the time of Sports Action, and the only option available was paper-based parlays limited to only NFL games. Then in 2007, that was terminated as well. That was when House Bill 3466 prohibited betting on sports in Oregon.
A Bright Future
Today that is nothing more than a memory as the Oregon Lottery is launching this week the Scoreboard app enabling sports betting on professional sports via a mobile application to all within the state’s borders. Players will now have a choice of which sports they want to place their wagers on, and it is as easy as doing it from your mobile.
The developmental process was filled with challenges and delays. Still, during the past weekend, six players were all allowed to play and test out the application on numerous devices. Android, iOS and desktop were all put to the test with a $100 to play for each participant, with the agreement in place that the winning money is theirs to keep. This was done to have one final check to see if they have any issues with making deposits or withdrawals or any other technical concerns which had to be attended to before launch. Since then Barry Pack, the Director to the Oregon Lottery, has given his approval for a start.
Scoreboard
Initially, the application was supposed to launch with the opening of the NFL season, but delays didn’t permit that to happen. SBTech was appointed to run the application. They are privately owned and also responsible for the running Church Hill Downs. They brought a wealth of experience and were able to prove past successes with enhancing player experiences. The scoreboard will bring in-game betting to the state, and both the Trail Blazers as well as the state’s NBA team will be included in this option. The FDIC will insure Players’ accounts while the player’s minds won’t be allowed to go into the access of $250 000. The size of the wagers permitted to be placed will vary across the application, but Shelby also stated that they aren’t obliged to take bets if it is placed within a cloud of scrutiny. Still, that doesn’t seem to be a problem since they don’t expect massive wagers anyway.
