Super Bowl Betting Helps Oregon Lottery Scoreboard Continue Upward Trend

Betting on the Super Bowl is a growing trend across America. And Oregon is no exception.

The Oregon Lottery Scoreboard sports betting app saw widespread growth in bets, handle and revenue for Super Bowl LV compared to betting during last year’s game.

It is good news for a state working to boost its lagging sports betting industry.

Super Bowl betting generates nearly $700K in state revenue

Overall, more than 150,000 Super Bowl wagers were placed via Scoreboard. The average bet was $23, according to the Oregon Lottery, as bettors combined for nearly $3.5 million in handle.

Information released by the Lottery showed that over 23,000 unique bettors placed wagers. That included nearly 1,500 new registrations on Super Bowl Sunday.

“Players took home the largest share of dollars wagered,” Tony Gallenbeck, the lottery’s sportsbook product manager, said in a release, “translating to nearly $700,000 in revenue generated by Scoreboard.”

How did Super Bowl prop betting do in Oregon?

Like other legal sportsbooks around the country, Scoreboard offered a variety of Super Bowl props and novelty bets. And Oregon bettors took advantage.

More than 3,500 bets were placed on the coin toss, while over 4,000 wagers came in on the color of the celebratory Gatorade shower. The correct choices: heads (pregame -105) and blue (+800).

“With the pandemic, it’s been a challenging year for all of us,” Barry Pack, director of the Oregon Lottery, said in a statement.

“Events like the Super Bowl provide not only a fun distraction, but also keeps sports betting dollars in Oregon for important state programs.”

Super Bowl betting a major boost for Oregon

Scoreboard’s betting totals for Super Bowl LV were a major bump over the previous year’s figures.

In 2020, more than 90,000 wagers were placed on Super Bowl LIV, accounting for nearly $2 million in handle and an average wager of around $21. Some 18,000 unique players took part, while the online sportsbook recorded 2,700 new registrations.

Gross gaming revenue amounted to just $150,000, or more than four times less than the total generated this past Sunday.

The increases in the recent Super Bowl betting are a welcome development for a regulated sports betting industry many believe has failed to capitalize on the financial opportunities presented by sports betting.

Jurisdictions with regulated wagering have seen similar spikes across the nation.

More than $420 million has already been reported in handle from Super Bowl LV. Last year’s big-game handle finished at around $300 million.

Despite signs of life, revenue in Oregon lags behind

Adding to the good news for Scoreboard this month was the release of its January figures.

Last month, the app generated nearly $35 million in handle (a record for Scoreboard) and $3.87 million in revenue (second-highest total).

Basketball led the way in January with $17.3 million in handle, followed by football at $10.2 million.

Despite such growth, Oregon still has a ways to go before being considered a top-notch betting state.

Through January, Oregon has generated less than $27 million in revenue since going live in October 2019. Oregon, in fact, has fallen severely behind most US states that have legalized sports betting.

Ideas have emerged on how to boost the state’s sports betting income. That includes a bill proposed by Gov. Kate Brown, which would allow wagering on college sports and broadening sportsbook availability.

State officials would be smart to consider them.