Online Casinos in Oregon

Oregon Has an Internet Gambling Offence, and a Constitutional Bar on Casinos

Oregon does not license online casino play, and it did not leave the internet unaddressed. ORS 167.109 provides that “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:” — the list that follows covers credit, electronic funds transfers, cheques and other financial transactions. The penalty is on the same page: “Violation of subsection (1) of this section is a Class C felony.”

What makes that provision bite is the definition in ORS 167.117: ““Unlawful” means not specifically authorized by law.” Oregon authorises a state lottery, pari-mutuel racing and licensed charitable games. It does not authorise an online casino, so online casino play is unlawful gambling, and ORS 167.109 is written for exactly that case. No online casino is licensed in Oregon, and this site does not point readers at operators that are not licensed where they are.

The general offences sit alongside it. “A person commits the crime of unlawful gambling in the first degree if the person knowingly promotes or profits from unlawful gambling.” and “Unlawful gambling in the first degree is a Class C felony.” On the player's side, “A person commits the crime of unlawful gambling in the second degree if the person knowingly:” covers placing a bet with a bookmaker or participating in unlawful gambling as a player, and “Unlawful gambling in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.”

The underlying definitions are broad enough to take in casino games. ““Gambling” means that a person stakes or risks something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the control or influence of the person, upon an agreement or understanding that the person or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.” and ““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.”

The Constitution Forecloses a Casino, Online or Otherwise

Unlike most states that simply have not passed an online casino law, Oregon has a constitutional provision on the point. Article XV, Section 4 states: “The Legislative Assembly has no power to authorize, and shall prohibit, casinos from operation in the State of Oregon.” The only carve-out in ORS 167.109 is for a different regulator entirely: “ORS 167.109 and 167.112 do not apply to activities licensed and regulated by the Oregon Racing Commission under ORS chapter 462.”

No Sourced Position on Sweepstakes Casinos

Oregon has published no statute, rule or official opinion that this research could find addressing sweepstakes or dual-currency casinos, so this page records no sweepstakes status rather than inferring one from the real-money position. The nearest thing in the statute is a narrow exclusion from the definition of gambling for contests played for tokens, and its conditions are specific — for instance, “An individual contestant may not purchase more than $100 worth of tokens for use in the contest during any 24-hour period;” — and framed around a physical premises where tokens are redeemed. Whether that reaches an online dual-currency product is a legal judgement, not a sourced fact, and this page does not make it.

Sweepstakes casinos and real-money casinos are separate products with separate rules, and neither is presented here as a licensed version of the other.