The Court of Appeals for the State of Oregon on Wednesday upheld a declaratory ruling from 2018 that a non-tribal Oregon poker room was operating in violation of the state’s gambling laws. The three-judge appellate panel’s ruling also represents a shot over the bow to the 20 or so poker clubs in Oregon who now find their business model affirmed as illegal, and who could risk prosecution by state authorities.
The appellate ruling continues a legal process in play since 2017 when the Oregon Lottery first began an investigation into poker games being offered at Oregon Racing, Inc’s, Portland Raceway. In 2018, the Oregon Lottery summarily ruled that the racetrack’s poker games were illegal, while it also yanked its lottery-licensed video gambling machines from the premises.
