Lawmakers thought they’d all but banned betting on dog racing in Oregon three years ago. Now they are trying again.
In 2022, the late Sen. Peter Courtney (D-Salem) passed a bill that he and his co-sponsor, state Rep. David Gomberg (D-Otis), believed would prohibit Oregon-based gambling sites from accepting bets on dogs from any state in which dog racing was “unlawful.”
But as Willamette Week reported, Oregon-based gambling sites—they are called advanced deposit wagering companies—continued to take bets on greyhounds, to the great frustration of Courtney, Gomberg and animal rights activists.
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Those bets fit into a larger context. Oregon is the nation’s leader in advanced deposit wagering, or ADW, taking bets on horse races all over the country from bettors all over the country. (North Dakota also hosts ADW betting hubs but is a distant second.) The Oregon Racing Commission takes a modest percentage of the bets and uses the money to regulate horse racing at Grants Pass Downs, the state’s only remaining commercial horse track, and at fairs in Crook, Tillamook and Union counties.
Bets on horse tracks all over the country booked in Oregon dominate the ADW business. Last year, Oregon ADWs booked $5.12 billion in horse racing bets. Greyhound bets are far fewer—less than 2% of the horse racing total—but still significant. And despite Courtney and Gomberg’s bill, Oregonians bet $3.36 million on greyhounds last year, according to the Oregon Racing Commission.
Gomberg has continued to push for Oregon to get rid of that business, pointing out that every state except West Virginia has ended dog racing. (Most of the betting on the sport is on races at tracks in other countries.)
On Jan. 30, the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection held a public hearing on House Bill 3020, introduced at the request of Gov. Tina Kotek. The bill prohibits companies in Oregon from accepting bets on greyhounds, regardless of where they are racing or where the bettor lives.
Connie Winn, executive director of the Oregon Racing Commission, testified in favor of the bill, as did Gomberg and many animal rights supporters.
Owners of bars that host off-track betting and horse racing supporters, including Richard Scheidt, a representative of Grants Pass Downs, testified against the bill.
The Oregon Racing Commission relies on ADW betting for about 75% of its roughly $4 million in annual revenue, so the racing community regards any attempt to reduce betting, even on greyhounds, as a threat.
Gomberg made clear in his testimony he’s not going after the ADW betting on horses—just the dogs.
“We are trying to say once and for all we need to stop dog racing bets from being facilitated here in Oregon,” Gomberg testified.
The bill remains in committee.
This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon. OJP seeks to inform, engage, and empower Oregonians with investigative and watchdog reporting that makes a significant impact at the state and local levels. Its stories appear in partner newspapers across the state. Learn more at oregonjournalismproject.org.