The First Sportsook On The West Coast Goes Live In Oregon Next Week
Legalized sports betting has reached the West Coast.
Chinook Winds Casino Resort, located in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast, announced late Monday that it planned on opening a retail sportsbook August 27 at 9 a.m.
The casino is working with Las Vegas Dissemination Company (LVDC) to provid sports betting; it already works with Nevada sports and racebooks. It also works with a tribal casino in New Mexico on its sportsbook.
The timing likely means Chinook will become the first place where a legal sports bet can be placed in Oregon. The Oregon Lottery had initially targeted an early September launch for its online sports betting product.
Pro and college betting, but no sportsbook app
Aside from beating the lottery to the punch, Chinook also plans on featuring a wider array of betting options for Oregon.
The Oregon Lottery will begin with lines on only professional sports. On top of that, though, Chinook will also boast college sports markets.
That said, the lottery will have a leg up on the Siletz-owned casino, as it will introduce an online sports betting option. Chinook will not.
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dquo;All of our wagering will be done in person,” Will Robertson, the property’s director of casino operations, said in a release, which noted that bettors view games in a sports wagering lounge or at the nearby Rogue River Steakhouse Lounge. “We will have no online wagering options.”
Tribal Attorney Craig Dorsay confirmed with Playin USA that Chinook is authorized to offer sports betting under the tribe’s current compact with the state. An online solution, however, is not addressed.
“Mobile sports betting is not currently allowed as we understand it by the state,” Dorsay said. “If it is allowed under state law, we will have to separately negotiate that subject with the state. All sports betting by the Tribe at this time will be on site.”
Chinook Winds picks a sports betting partner
When Chinook’s intentions to open a sportsbook came to light, the casino remained tight-lipped regarding details.
Now, it appears Chinook always knew which sports betting provider to bring into its corner.
“In our search for a service provider, LVDC stood out from the start,” Robertson said. “Their professionalism and experience have been on display from day one. We are excited to have them by our side as we begin offering sports wagering for our guests.”
Added LVDC Director of Sales Jay Vaccaro:
“We are grateful to the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians for this opportunity and are looking forward to sharing our Las Vegas style of sports wagering with the customers of Chinook Winds Casino Resort. The support and cooperation we have received has been outstanding and together we will bring additional fun and excitement to this great property.”
Oregon Lottery Scoreboard launch: Not yet
Open seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., Chinook’s sports betting lounge will reintroduce regulated wagering to Oregon.
After years of enjoying the Sports Action parlay game via the state lottery, Oregon residents and visitors have gone without legalized betting since 2007, when Oregon succumbed to the pressure of the NCAA after the association threatened to withhold championship events in states that featured wagering.
Now, not only is Chinook ready to begin accepting wagers, but the Oregon Lottery will also soon offer a regulated sportsbook.
But the lottery might not open as early as hoped.
According to The Oregonian, the lottery’s Oregon Lottery Scoreboard, as it will be called, has hit the testing stages. Yet the lottery does not seem anxious to set it loose on the public just yet.
A source told the newspaper that the online sportsbook will go live once the Oregon Lottery is “satisfied with everything” and only after another round of security testing “to ensure everything performs the same in the live environment as it did in testing.”
So for now, the Oregon casino is the only place you’ll be able to bet legally in the state.
