When the Oregon State Beavers upset the Oregon Ducks 38-34 last weekend, bettors all over the U.S. wagered on the state’s favorite football game.
Few of them bet in Oregon—at least not legally.
Although Oregon became one of the first states to offer legal sports betting on cellphones in October 2019, Oregonians could only legally bet on the biggest game of the year on a Native American reservation. Betting on college sports via the Oregon Lottery’s app remains illegal.
It’s not for lack of trying. Last year, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), the most powerful man in the Capitol, pleaded with his colleagues to allow betting on college sports, as more than a dozen other states do.
