Oregon to ban online greyhound racing betting from 2027
Greyhound racing has been illegal in Oregon since 2022, but people could still place bets online.
US.- Betting on greyhound racing in Oregon will effectively become illegal from July 1, 2027. Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 3020, which bans online betting on greyhounds on Wednesday May 8.
Oregon’s Multnomah Greyhound Park in Wood Village closed in 2004, and greyhound racing has been illegal in the state since March 2022, when the former state governor, Kate Brown, signed SB 1504 into law. However, people could still place bets on races held in other states through online platforms.
Oregon is one of only two states in the US to allow online betting on greyhound racing, with North Dakota being the other. According to GREY2K USA, a greyhound protection organisation which opposes racing, Oregon-based advanced deposit wagering companies took 57 per cent of the $155m in bets that were wagered on greyhound racing in the US in 2024.
Since 2022, greyhound simulcasting has been banned in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Oregon. When these bans take effect, gambling on greyhound racing in the US will be legal only in fourteen states.
GREY2K USA executive director Carey Taheil welcomed the news. He said: “We are very grateful to our wonderful lobbyist George Okulitch, who made passage of HB 3020 possible. And this historic victory would not have happened without the leadership of State Representatives David Gomberg and Courtney Neron, Senator Deb Patterson, and of course, Governor Tina Kotek.
“There are still six states in which dog racing is legal, and West Virginia still has two operating tracks. So even as we work state-by-state, our ultimate goal is to pass the US Greyhound Protection Act in Congress, a comprehensive bill with three key goals: prohibit live dog racing nationwide, block the export of American dogs for racing elsewhere and bar US gamblers from betting on foreign races.”
