Oregon Online Casinos

Oregon Online Casinos

Oregon online gambling regulation

Online gambling is illegal in Oregon. On paper, residents of the Beaver State have to deal with some of the toughest gaming-related legislation we’ve ever seen. Technically, any game of chance that is not licensed or regulated by the state is a crime. As there are no legal online casinos registered in Oregon, this essentially outlaws all other forms of placing wagers over the internet.

You might notice that this hard-nosed stance different from most other states, where online gambling is ‘nobody’s business’ due to a lack of laws defining the activity as a whole. Theoretically, Oregon is one of the strictest states when it comes to gambling sites and the very nature of this endeavor.

Did you notice that we used the word ‘theoretically’? We opted for this kind of wording because there is no recorded instance of a player being charged with unlawful gambling. In Oregon, unlawful gambling is classified as an activity in which a person knowing places a bet at a sportsbook/ engages in unlawful gambling in other forms. In both cases, the crime is a Class A misdemeanor.

While such charges are no joke, it’s widely believed that Oregon adopted such a strict stance as a means of curbing the founding of illegal gambling operations. There are more serious legal repercussions for the organizers of these operations, but laws aimed at players are drawn up to both instill fear amongst people and to effectively render illegal sites as unfruitful endeavors.

Just by looking at the facts at surface-level, one could easily think that Oregonians have no online casino options whatsoever. This would be a wrong assumption, as there is a loophole that allows players to freely partake in their favorite casino-related activities. Of course, we’re talking about offshore sites.

Most guides, websites, and blogs like to paint these online casinos as hotspots for fraud, but such an assumption is mostly based on antiquated anecdotal accounts from the early 2000s. Today, many countries have elaborate and well-organized regulatory bodies, rendering scams almost nonexistent.

Still, you want to be safe. Make sure you choose an online casino from a jurisdiction that has strict laws regulating both operators and sites. This will ensure that you are protected from any and all kinds of malicious activities.

As for the potential future of online gambling in Oregon, things are looking positive. Social and charitable gaming are very popular, along with a plethora of Class II and Class III tribal venues scattered throughout the state. If the industry continues booming at this rate, we might be able to see the introduction of legal casino sites and sportsbooks. Most experts believe it’s just a matter of time.

The State of Oregon may not have a reputation of a big gambling state, but its residents enjoy a large number of gaming options, primarily racetrack betting and tribal gambling. The stance towards internet gambling is relatively harsh, but not taken too seriously by the state’s government. Betting on dog and horse races was the first foray into gambling for Oregon. The Pari-Mutuel Wagering Act which legalized greyhound and horse racing in the Beaver State was passed in 1933. The dog racing industry ran from 1933 to 2004 in Oregon, with races being held at Multnomah Greyhound Park. Dog races were then discontinued due to low revenues and overall lack of interest for greyhound racing.

Licensed poker clubs were introduced in 1973. However, today’s primary venues for gambling in Oregon came into the scene more than a decade later - tribal casinos. Before tribal casino facilities, the Oregon Lottery was voted for and established in 1984. In 1988, the Indian Gambling Regulatory Act authorized tribal casino gaming. Most of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes were reluctant at first; the Cow Creek Band was the first tribe to open a bingo hall in Canyonville in 1992. This particular venue included video poker and blackjack the following year.

Now, there are several tribe-operated casino resorts in Oregon, and not one commercial casino. Politicians have made multiple unsuccessful attempts at getting commercial casinos legalized even before the state lottery began. Two bill proposals from 2012 sought to legalize non-tribal casinos, but failed, as they were rejected by the voters. Charity gambling and social gambling continue to flourish, ever since they boomed in the early 2000s.

Land based casinos

Casino gambling in Oregon is limited to 9 casino establishments, all run by the state’s Native American Tribes. Through their compacts with the state government, tribes like the Coquille and Siletz offer both Class II (bingo) and Class III (Vegas style) gaming to Oregonians. The first casino venue in the state, the Cow Creek Bingo Hall, started with 60 machines. It has since grown into the Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort and became a tourist magnet. The Seven Feathers houses over 1,000 slot machines (technically video lottery terminals) and over a dozen tables in Canyonville, Southern Oregon.

The Spirit Mountain Casino is located in Grand Ronde in Willamette Valley, and its amenities include a 254-room hotel and 90,000 square feet of gaming floors, complete with restaurants and live entertainment events. Chinook Winds Casino is another popular destination for Oregon gamblers, located in Lincoln City. The gaming floor occupies 157,000 square feet and is complemented by two restaurants, a golf course, a 227-room hotel and live entertainment. Chinook Winds operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Other venues in Oregon include Indian Head Casino in Warm Springs, Three Rivers Casino in Florence, Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Pendleton and Kla-Mo-Ya Casino in Chiloquin. Overall, Oregon casinos offer the following games: slots, craps, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, 3 Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, High Card Flush, Mississippi Stud, Texas Hold’em Bonus, Big Six Wheel, bingo and keno.

Poker clubs are alive and well (Final Table Poker Club, Portland Meadows, Black Diamond Poker Room), and some Oregonians even scratch their itch in nearby Washington. Since Portland, Oregon’s biggest city, is located far from any state reservation lands Portland residents are more inclined to frequent the Ilani Casino in Ridgefield in Washington, for example, which is just 25 miles away from downtown Portland.

Neighbouring States: California, Idaho, Nevada, Washington

Top Oregon Casino Slots and Games

References

[1] Oregon Department of Justice (Charitable Gaming Regulation)

[2] Oregon State Police Gaming Enforcement Division

[3] Oregon Lottery

[4] Oregon Racing Commission

[5] Online gambling - are players at risk of prosecution?

[6] American Gaming Association - https://www.americangaming.org