The Oregon Lottery is run by the government of Oregon. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
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The Oregon Lottery was enabled by an amendment to the Oregon Constitution, approved by voters in the 1984 general election. The Lottery began the next year, eventually offering two types of games: scratch-it tickets, and an online jackpot game, Megabucks. The Lottery has since added many games, occasionally removing some which were not successful.
In fiscal year 2006, the Lottery reached $1 billion for the first time.
The following games (including those retired) have been offered by the lottery: [1]
Like other US lotteries (and gambling in general), the Oregon Lottery has drawn its share of controversy. Topics of debate include generic topics such as the morality of legalized and/or government-sponsored gambling, the alleged disproportionate effect that gambling (legal or otherwise) has on the poor, and the suitability of lottery dollars (as opposed to involuntary taxation) as a revenue source.[2][3] Several issues have been unique to Oregon, however.
Other controversies have swirled around the 1992 introduction of video poker machines, which may be installed in bars and other adults-only establishments. In 2005, the Lottery added electronic slot machines.[4] Many have argued that these are particularly addictive forms of gambling. The electronic games have also created disputes over the revenue division between Oregon and owners of restaurants and taverns. Still another is that in 2001, Oregon introduced an online game that, to this day, requires top prize winners to receive lifetime payments, with no cash option available. This is in contrast to Megabucks, which became the first US lottery game to give winners a choice of lump sum or annuity. Neighboring Washington's Lottery offered a similar numbers game that became a scratch game in 2005, and offers a cash option.
The Oregon Lottery also has received criticism from dedicated players over the fact that all of its in-house drawings are computerized (RNG), rather than using traditional ball drawings. (Powerball, drawn in Florida, but played in Oregon as well, continues to conduct ball drawings.)
In 1989, the lottery added Sports Action, a parlay game allowing wagers on National Football League (NFL) games. The reaction from the sports world was negative. The NFL was highly displeased by this move, though legally powerless to stop the Oregon Lottery as the game took care to avoid infringing upon any NFL trademark (no NFL team names were used; NFL teams were identified by city). They even stated that Oregon would never have an NFL team as long as the betting continued.[5] The revenues were used to provide funding to intercollegiate athletics in the state.[5]
In 1990, NBA games were added (excluding games involving the Trail Blazers.) This prompted a lawsuit from the NBA; however, betting on basketball did not prove financially viable, and the Lottery discontinued NBA betting the following year (settling the lawsuit with the NBA thereafter). Still, wagering on football proved highly successful for Oregon, bringing in over $2 million yearly in proceeds. The NCAA, long opposed to sports betting, took the position that no post-season basketball games (which are played at neutral sites) would be held in Oregon so long as Sports Action was available;[5] the NBA criticized Oregon even after its wagering on NBA games was discontinued.
Many proponents of the Lottery rebuffed such criticism, noting that the Oregon Lottery, with a maximum wager of $20, was "small potatoes" compared to the Las Vegas sports book and the various illegal sports books throughout the country. Further, it had been pointed out that the overwhelming popularity of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is driven by office pools and other forms of gambling.
In 1997, a bill was introduced to eliminate the lottery game,[5] but was not enacted into law. In 2005, House Bill 3466 was passed by the Oregon Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski; this bill outlawed Sports Action game as of the conclusion of the 2006-2007 NFL season.[6] As a result, the Rose Garden Arena was awarded regional games in the 2009 NCAA men's basketball tournament.[7]
In March 2007, the Oregon Lottery published its first Lottery gadget for Windows Vista. The gadget relays the winning numbers for Powerball or Megabucks. The gadget also features winner stories as well as Lottery alerts, jackpot alerts, and the Oregon Amber Alert.
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