Sports betting recovering in Oregon
The Oregon Lottery Scoreboard sports betting app has started its recovery after sporting events shut down this spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, the SBTech-powered application saw both revenue and handle increase, a first since February. Turnover rose 64.5% to $7.3m.
Though most popular sports were suspended, table tennis and mixed martial arts (MMA) took center stage, helping breathe life into Oregon sports betting. Table tennis generated 76,822 bets and $3.8m in May stakes, while MMA bets totaled $1m for the month, rising from a low of $14,850 in April. International soccer also helped increase betting totals; the return of the K-League in South Korea and Germany’s Bundesliga brought in $977,485 in wagers.
Oregon Lottery Scoreboard app totals for May
In May, players placed a total of 223,325 wagers via the Scoreboard app, an increase from 139,627 in April. The app had 7,763 active players as of May 31. The average stake across all sports and markets was $32.64, a 2.9% bump from April’s mark.
revenues were up 52.3% to $598,061
Once the lottery paid customers their winnings, revenues were up 52.3% to $598,061, a strong indication that the the state’s sports betting industry is starting to recover after being being slammed by the coronavirus crisis. Both revenue as well as handle fell sharply after in February, a month with turnover of just over $20m and revenues of $1.5m.
Successful start
The Oregon Lottery Scoreboard app launched in late October 2019 and enjoyed a promising start. In just the first two weeks of operation, the app saw over $4.5m in wagers placed and more than 25,000 customers register accounts.
State officials expect stakes to surpass the $300m mark after the first year of operation with around $26.6m in revenues. The lottery was set to launch a retail option in January to boost revenue further, but the initiative has not gotten off the ground.