According to La Fleur’s Magazine quarterly sales report in the May/June 2020 edition, the U.S. lottery industry’s total sports betting revenues increased 126% to $73.7 million in 1Q20 thanks to the strong performance of the Oregon Lottery’s new Scoreboard app. The Oregon Lottery launched its Scoreboard app in October 2019. Handle totaled $50.96 million in 1Q20.
While betting tumbled for all lotteries worldwide offering sports betting, fixed odds betting and toto during the pandemic, an upturn is in sight.
The Oregon Lottery’s sports betting turnover increased 64.5% in May. While major North American professional sports such as basketball, baseball and hockey are not available, Oregon Lottery bettors could bet on table tennis and mixed martial arts. International soccer meets are also beginning to resume in Europe and Asia.
Speaking at La Fleur’s 2019 Austin Conference in November, Oregon Lottery Director Barry Pack said Scorecard represented “the fastest path to responsibly generating revenue and reaching new players. Mobile sports betting currently exists in Oregon through illegal offshore books. Online wagering with mobile devices is growing rapidly and the combination of convenience, cost, and wagering options maximizes net sales and transfers.”
Oregon Lottery reported 27,000+ registration in its first month of operation. This represents 0.9% of adult Oregonians. The lottery’s projection was to reach 60,000 registered players by month six.
The Oregon Lottery requires players verified to be 21+. Play is account faced. Scoreboard is geo-fenced to prevent wagering outside of Oregon and on tribal lands. It offers full range of professional sports worldwide. Currently, no collegiate sports are permitted at this time. Bettors are offered a full range of wagering options including single-event wagering, parlay and in-play/live wagering. Scoreboard is a separate app from existing Oregon Lottery convenience app; it features a full suite of responsible gaming tools and account features.
Elsewhere in Canada, sports pools hit a wall with all sports games cancelled as a result of the pandemic. Sports pool sales decreased 21% to C$121.8 million in 1Q20, according to La Fleur’s Magazine 1Q20 sales report. BCLC is publicizing the return of sports action on its website: “Toto is back! Play German and Spanish soccer this weekend.”