The state of Oregon will soon become the next state to join the sports betting industry, but the start date will come with a few kinks. Oregon was expected to launch sports betting in full on Aug. 27, but that won’t be the case. Sports betting fans in Oregon will still have the opportunity to place a bet on that date, but it will only be allowed in one specific location.
Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City is planning on launching sports betting on Aug. 27, exactly eight days before the start of NFL season. Chinook Winds Casino also features a resort that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, but the newly opened sportsbook will be the biggest attraction on Aug. 27.
Many states throughout the country have been working hard to legalize sports betting, but that wasn’t a problem in the state of Oregon. Oregon was one of four states that were exempt from the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act, which made sports betting illegal throughout the country. Even though new laws were not needed, Oregon still had to develop a plan to launch sports betting and improve upon their current plan.
In Charge
The Oregon Lottery is going to control the sports betting scene in the state, and they announced their plans last May. The Oregon Lottery targeted the 2019 NFL season opener as their start date, and they also announced that SB Tech would be their primary sportsbook provider.
SB Tech is still on board to help out with sports betting, but that target date doesn’t seem very likely. Mobile betting was supposed to be the first thing introduced in Oregon, but an oceanfront casino has a sportsbook up and ready to open on Aug. 27.
The state is planning on launching an app that will allow bets to be placed from anywhere in the state. Betting on college sports will not be allowed on the state lottery’s app when it becomes available for download.
First To Open
Chinook Winds Casino will not be offering mobile or online betting at launch, and all bets must be made in person. The Chinook Winds Casino is owned and operated by the Siletz tribe in Oregon, and they have been working on preparing for this date for a while.
There will be a sports betting lounge on-site at the casino, and there will be more than a dozen big-screen televisions available for watching games. Betting on college sports will be included at this location, and Chinook Winds Casino is expecting a large crowd for Saturday night’s college football opener.
Chinook Winds Casino has over 157,000 square feet of gaming space, but some of that will now be dedicated to sports betting. The casino and resort were opened in 1995, and there are a total of 227 rooms on-site. Six different restaurants and bars are also on-site at this location, and there will be plenty for people to do besides place a bet on sports.
Chinook Winds Casino is open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, but those numbers will likely change on the sportsbook side of things.