Scoreboard’s April Figures Leave Much To Be Desired

April data released by the Oregon Lottery shows that usage of its Scoreboard betting app improved last month from a disappointing March display.

That’s the good news.

The bad news?

Scoreboard remains far from reclaiming the peak reached earlier this year and far behind its sports-betting peers.

Basketball carries Scoreboard through April

Scoreboard tallied $25.3 million in handle from more than 760,000 bets in April.

Those totals – with a 10.8 percent margin – generated $2.7 million in revenue.

Scoreboard users’ average bet amount was $33.31, a figure largely in line with what Scoreboard has experienced to this point.

Basketball led the way in April, with more than 353,000 bets, $13.6 million in revenue, and $1.6 million in revenue.

The sport’s betting popularity is unsurprising in Oregon, a state led in many ways by the immense popularity of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers, in the throes of a battle to stay out of the NBA’s new play-in tournament, remain an intriguing team led by one of the league’s most entertaining players, Damian Lillard.

In other words, expect basketball’s betting popularity on Scoreboard to stick around.

Coming in second was baseball’s first full month (135,006 bets; $4.2 million in handle; $391K in revenue), followed by soccer (88,909 bets; $2.6 million in handle; $227K in revenue).

Other notable sports to receive bets included hockey ($1.4 million in handle), golf ($706K), and MMA ($784K).

More important was the month’s mini-bounce-back from March’s disappointing showing.

From March to April, Scoreboard generated $1.2 million more in handle and $1.3 million more in revenue. The platform’s margin, or hold, nearly doubled, from 5.7 to 10.8 percent.

Year-to-date figures tell intriguing story

The realities facing Scoreboard – good and bad – were on full display through the year’s first four months.

At the outset, January saw the sportsbook’s best month yet, generating nearly $35 million in handle and $4 million in revenue.

Scoreboard’s seemingly growing popularity was clear – but it has yet to be matched again.

Plus, even January – led by betting on the NFL playoffs – didn’t harness Scoreboard’s full potential.

And that’s because of the Lottery’s decision not to offer wagers on college sports.

That self-sabotage was never more evident than in March – a month of NCAA March Madness betting highlights for other states but just an underwhelming performance at Scoreboard.

One can imagine the lack of college sports betting also contributed to a significant drop in registrations once the NFL season was over.

Registrations dipped from 3,504 and 3,821 in January and February, respectively, to 1,772 and 1,456 in March and April.

Meanwhile, here are Scoreboard’s 2021 year-to-date figures through April:

• Number of bets: 3.6 million
• Handle: $113.9 million
• Revenue: $10.6 million
• Margin: 9.3 percent
• Unique active players: Nearly 35,600
• Average bet amount: $31.53
• Registrations: 10,533

Basketball has reigned supreme through the first third of the year, generating 1.8 million bets, $63.6 million in handle, and nearly $5.5 million in revenue.

Still in second is football, which has tallied nearly a half-million bets and nearly $14 million in handle. Football’s revenue is ticking toward $1.9 million.

As the spring and summer proceed, expect soccer – led by the Portland Timbers and Major League Soccer – to become Oregon’s second-favorite sport to bet.

Through April, Oregonians wagered nearly 375,000 times on soccer. That led to more than $10.2 million in handle and $925,000 in revenue.

Unfortunately, the totals generated by Scoreboard so far this year are far behind peers like New Hampshire, which runs through a single sportsbook, DraftKings. Oregon is also considering a DraftKings rebrand.

Through just March, New Hampshire has garnered $166.6 million in handle and $10.2 million in revenue.

One place the state has lacked is hold; February, for instance, was stuck at just 3.5 percent.

April numbers have yet to be released for New Hampshire, but there is no indication they will do anything but significantly grow the gap.