• Michigan Online Gambling Start Date
• Can You Bet Online In Oregon
• Oregon Online Gambling
• Oregon Lottery Online Gambling
• Michigan Online Gambling

• Learn the legal gambling age in Oregon. See how old you need to be to gamble in Oregon including casino, sports, online gambling and more!
• Oregon State Legislature Bill 2823.

For now, that means players are banned from playing for money online in Oregon.

Oregon has no shortage of colorful online poker pros who call the state home. In fact, the entire Northwest region has been something of an online poker hotspot over the last decade, with big name after big name emerging from Oregon and neighboring states to claim some of poker’s biggest titles.

We get readers every day who want to know how they can add their name to that list, and while we can’t make you a better poker player, we can dramatically simplify the process of getting your online poker career started with this Oregon Poker Players Guide to Real-Money Games Online.

Current Updates for Oregon’s Poker & Gambling Laws

Poker entrepreneurs in Oregon have figured out a way to offer live poker. Under the law that allows social gaming, poker rooms have appeared throughout the state. Without charging rake or tournament fees, the owners assert that they are not operating for-profit rooms, only charging door fees and making money from food and drink orders in order to stay in business.

One such poker room operates at the Portland Meadows racetrack. But the Oregon Lottery has been threatening to remove its 10 video lottery terminals from the track if the poker room is not closed. It knows that the racetrack makes $350,000 on commission from the machines’ revenue, so it began threatening to remove the machines in early 2017.

Portland Meadows’ attorney repeatedly asserted that the poker room complied with state laws. The case went on until May 2018, when Oregon Lottery Director Barry Pack delivered a final ruling in the matter. By way of undercover research, the Lottery determined players exchange money for chips, which means the poker room acts as a bank, which violates the law. In addition, the door fee serves as income, which is a violation of the lease for the machines.

As of June 2018, 2018, Portland Meadows is considering taking the case to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Facts About Online Poker in Oregon

“Best” is obviously a subjective term, but we do our darndest as reviewers to come as close to objectivity as possible when evaluating online poker sites open to players from Oregon. There are some elements of an online poker that can be quantified – traffic, promotions, rake – and we definitely consider all of those. There are also more amorphous qualities – reputation, game softness and support – that we grade as rigidly as possible in our overall review.

Is Online Poker Legal in Oregon?

Playing at real-money online poker sites in Oregon is about as uncomplicated as any other online commercial transaction. As you know, there are particular sites (listed above) that we strongly suggest you try first, but the list of Oregon-friendly online poker rooms doesn’t cover all of the sites that welcome players from Oregon.

As for depositing at an online poker room, Oregon players will find a variety of available methods, with major credit cards and cash transfers serving as the two most commonly used options.

Oregon Law and Online Gambling / Poker

It’s important for you to understand that legal advice cannot – and should not – come from a site like ours. If you’ve seen sites that declare online poker to be “100% legal” or similar claims, then you’ve come across sources that simply aren’t being honest with you.

The honest answer is that gambling law, especially as it applies to gambling online, is a complicated subject best left to the specialists. What we try to do is provide a basic snapshot of a state’s laws and then point you in the direction of additional resources that can further your research. Ultimately, any research about the legality of an action should end with a consultation involving a lawyer, preferably one with experience in the gambling law arena.

Here are some basic aspects of Oregon gambling laws that poker players should be aware of:

Oregon law does directly address online gambling, so let’s start there. Section 167.109:

“Internet gambling,” essentially makes it a felony to accept payments related to “the participation of another person in unlawful gambling using the Internet.”

What the section does not appear to do is criminalize the actions of individual gamblers or poker players. Our non-professional reading of the law can find no mention of players in Section 167.109.

The next logical question poker players have at this point is how Oregon defines gambling. It’s the standard definition employed by multiple state in America – risking a valuable thing on a contest of chance an outcome outside of one’s influence with the expectation that some other valuable thing could be gained (Section 167.117(7)).

Michigan Online Gambling Start Date

Oregon law is more helpful than some in that it actually provides a further definition of what a contest must involve in order to be classified as one of chance. Specifically, it’s when the: “outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor” (Section 167.117(6)).

Social games fall outside the purview of Oregon gambling law, per Section 167.117(7c) (the definition of “gambling”) and Section 167.117(21) (the definition of “social game”).

One last item of note for Oregon gamblers: there is a charge reserved for players in Oregon law. Section 167.122 assigns a misdemeanor charge to anyone who “participates or engages in unlawful gambling as a player.”

The next step: Review the state law of Oregon yourself. You can find a copy of the state statutes online at the link below.

Is Oregon Planning to Regulate Online Poker?

The chances in the status quo seem minimal, although anything is possible when you start talking about state politics. Things generally move at a quicker pace on the state level, so it’s entirely reasonable to argue that Oregon could propose and pass a bill to regulate online poker in relatively short order. Reasonable and likely are two different beasts, however, and as it stands Oregon is heavy on potential and light on concrete progress toward regulating poker played online.

Oregon Gambling Facts

The heart of regulated gambling in Oregon are the state’s double-digit tribal casinos, which offer visitors a selection of gambling options comparable to a Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino. Charitable gambling is also a strong presence in the state, with a wide swath of permitted activities like bingo and casino-style table games. The state lottery and pari-mutuel wagering round out the regulated gambling lineup for Oregon.

Does Oregon Offer any State-Regulated Online Gambling?

While gamblers from Oregon would no doubt prefer to patronize sites that bore the official seal of the state government, that’s simply not possible in the status quo. While there may be some individual online gambling formats that are acceptable under Oregon law, the state does not directly oversee or in any way regulate online gambling.

All Poker and Gambling Laws by State

• June 20th, 2018

  Poker in Oregon is in a state of flux. And it may be the Oregon Court of Appeals that decides the fate of more than a dozen live poker rooms across the state. After nearly two years of warring with words and threats, the Oregon Lottery took a stand against

  Read Full
• October 3rd, 2017

  As in many states in America, laws relating to poker in Oregon are complicated. That makes the situation between Portland Meadows and the Oregon Lottery even more problematic as it pertains to the legality of poker rooms. The yearlong battle is coming to a head at the end of October,

  Read Full

• The Oregon Lottery is replacing old video lottery machines with new VLMs and the move is causing gambling recovery advocates to protest. The rollout of the state-of-the-art machines promises players the ability to play more games at one time, while betting less money on each of those games. Casual readers

  Read Full

• The Oregon Ducks go into the 2015 NCAA National Championship Game as a 7-point favorite, according to Caesars Palace Sportsbook. The Ducks entered the 4-team BCS Playoff as the #2 seed, while OSU entered as the #4 seed. The Ducks are the favorites perhaps due to the youth of the

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Oregon Gambling Resources

Oregon Department of Justice – Charitable Gaming Division. The State DoJ handles charitable gambling in Oregon, and the page for their Charitable Gaming Division highlights the basics regarding compliance and provides a database of licensed operators.

Oregon Casino Initiatives – BallotPedia. Excellent resource for learning more about the history, context and outcome of Oregon’s recently-defeated ballot measure that sought to bring commercial casinos to the state.

Oregon.gov – Problem Gambling Services. State-backed resource for problem gambling information, including extensive literature, training tools and helpline details from the award-winning Oregon Department of Human Services.

Sources & Citations For This Article on Oregon Online Poker

An Overview Of The Gambling Laws In The State Of Oregon

Oregon is tolerant of gambling which takes place under their broad ‘social’ definitions, though come down hard on people taking money for online gambling purposes. This State have 9 class 3 tribal casinos offering the full range of games, and also have some advanced sports betting options. This article gives you a detailed overview of the gambling laws in the State of Oregon.

First up below, Oregon’s gambling history is covered in quick-fire fashion, starting with the first legislation (for horse racing) in 1931. After that you’ll find a game-by-game guide covering the different forms of gambling, along with the current legal status. Next a little more detail on the statutes is provided, including quotations and a legal timeline. Finally you will find a brief summary and a look at possible future scenarios for this State.

Oregon Gambling Laws – A Brief History

Oregon have a long history of sports betting, and are one of only 4 States who were ‘grandfathered’ into an exemption from a Federal ban on betting on pro sports in 1992. They first introduced Pari-Mutuel betting in 1931 for horse racing, with greyhound racing following 2 years later. Nowadays, Oregon offers advanced betting options including internet wagering (for prior deposits) and the ability to accept bets on horse-races from out of state. Their lottery games on pro sports results unfortunately came to an end, as did greyhound racing – which fell victim to changing times and declining popularity.

Can You Bet Online In Oregon

Social gambling is the big thing in Oregon. Games such as poker are legal here as long as the house or an individual is not directly profiting by running them. This covers home-games easily, though also covers many poker clubs who make their profit by charging a cover (entrance) charge and from food and drink. There are also charity poker tournaments – and full poker rooms at the tribal casinos. Charity gaming also extends to bingo, raffles and ‘casino nights’ – and there is a lottery which also supplies cash for good causes.

1992 saw the negotiation of compacts with the tribes in Oregon and there are now a total of 9 tribal casinos offering the top tier of casino games including table games and slots. There have been more recent moves to license commercial casinos. These were rejected in a 2012 referendum, and plans to expand these are currently on hold.

Oregon is one of the few States to explicitly outlaw online gambling. The crime is accepting money for gambling (which is defined broadly) from Oregon citizens – and so firmly aimed at the operators. There has been no discussion of regulating internet poker games in this state as of 2014.

What Types Of Gambling Are Legal?

Casino Games: Yes, you can play at tribal casinos that have class 3 games, which include slots and casino table games.

Online Casinos: No, this State does have an explicit anti-internet gambling law, which makes it illegal to accept bets from anyone over the internet (making the operators of online casinos the criminals).

Oregon Online Gambling

Live Poker: Yes, you have 3 options for live poker games in this State. First you can play at the tribal casinos, many of which have card-rooms. Second there are a lot of poker card-rooms which stay legal by returning all the prizes back to the players (not profiting directly from the games). Third, you can play poker home-games under the same social poker rules, as long as nobody is profiting from the games.

Online Poker: No, there is no discussion about carving out or regulating online poker games at this time.

Sports Betting: Yes, Oregon is one of 4 States (along with Nevada, Delaware and Montana) who were exempted from the Federal ban on sports-betting in 1992 due to their existing laws. You can bet on horse racing here, though not professional sports. There are facilities for remote betting and advance deposit betting over the internet or telephone for horse racing fans.

Lottery Betting: Yes, Oregon has a State lottery and participates in inter-State drawing games.

Bingo Games: Yes, there are social gambling laws in this State which include both bingo and raffle type games.

Oregon Gambling Laws – Key Statutes And Legal Timeline

The statutes in Oregon are water-tight compared to the loosely defined laws in many States. There are plenty of carve-outs for different kinds of charity and social gambling (in addition to the Tribal compacts), however the core laws are very strict. Gambling and contest of chance definitions encompass the element of chance / elements of skill definition which is often used as a get-out clause for games like poker. If there was any remaining doubt, Texas Holdem is specifically listed as an illegal casino game. There are also laws making it a felony to accept wagers over the internet from Oregon residents, along with an all-encompassing list of the financial transactions this might involve.

First, here is the list of casino games, please make sure you do not end up in jail for organizing an illegal game of chuck-a-luck!

Oregon Lottery Online Gambling

[su_quote]”Casino game” means any of the traditional gambling-based games commonly known as dice, faro, monte, roulette, fan-tan, twenty-one, blackjack, Texas hold-’em, seven-and-a-half, big injun, klondike, craps, poker, chuck-a-luck, Chinese chuck-a-luck (dai shu), wheel of fortune, chemin de fer, baccarat, pai gow, beat the banker, panquinqui, red dog, acey-deucey, or any other gambling-based game similar in form or content. “ (From 167-116)[/su_quote]

This is the Contest of Chance definition:

[su_quote](6) “Contest of chance” means any contest, game, gaming scheme or gaming device in which the outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that skill of the contestants may also be a factor therein. (From 167-116)[/su_quote]

Finally, here is the wording on accepting money over the internet for the gambling purposes:

[su_quote](1) A person engaged in an Internet gambling business may not knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful gambling using the Internet:” (from: 167-109)[/su_quote]

Below is the recent legal timeline of changes affecting gamblers in Oregon:

1931: Pari-mutuel betting on horse racing begins, with greyhound betting following in 1933.

1971: Charity gambling legalized, allowing fundraising ‘casino nights’. Bingo and raffles were added to this bill in an amendment in 1976.

Michigan Online Gambling

1973: Social gaming becomes legal, as long as the house (or an individual) does not profit from running a game, this is considered to be within the law.

1984: Bill passed signing the Oregon State lottery into law, the ‘Oregon Lottery Commission’ also regulate VLT (virtual lottery terminals) which are class 2 gaming machines now found at racetracks and many tribal casinos.

1991: VLTs allowed into bars, where they pushed out the remaining illegally operated video poker machines. This law was later amended, increasing the number of VLTs to 6 per location.

1992: First tribal compacts signed which enabled native tribes to offer class 1 and 2 games. Later 9 casinos would be allowed to offer class 3 gaming, which includes table games, slots and poker card-rooms, 6 were opened in 1996.

1997: Out of State bets on horse races and greyhounds accepted electronically.

2004: Last greyhound races took place after this sport lost its appeal.

2011: Amendment passed making accepting money for gambling online a felony.

Oregon Gambling Laws – Summary And Look To The Future

This State is unique in several aspects. First, their social gambling rules are very relaxed and give scope for a lot of recreational gambling activity. Second, they do explicitly make internet gambling illegal, with laws focusing on the game operators taking wagers from people inside the State. There have been some progressive moves – including a recent attempt to create a non-tribal, State-run casino – this was rejected and there appear to be no further expansion plans.

I do not believe that Oregon is a good candidate for regulated online gambling in the near future, based on their existing anti-internet gambling laws. There is no fundamental reason to rule this out once many other States are involved and the revenue generation potential is established.

Useful Resources:

Wiki History / Overview

Tribal Histories

• http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130513/NEWS/305130312/-1/SPECIAL77

Gambling Law US Summary Of Statutes:

Interactive Statutes Viewer (Gambling Is Under Chapter 4)

Internet Gambling Amendment