Chinook Winds In Oregon Celebrates Two Years Of Sports Betting

• Chinook Winds Casino Resort is celebrating two years of being a sportsbook in Oregon with its doors shut because of COVID-19.
• The retail sportsbook has not had great success in these last two years because of the havoc brought upon them and the industry with the Coronavirus.
• Going into year three, there are hopes for more allowances to operate and turn a profit rather than have their doors closed to the public and be unable to take wagers on sporting events.

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. – Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, Oregon celebrates two years of having a retail sportsbook on Friday. The gaming establishment is a land-based only sportsbook that offers wagers on everything from the common to the obscure. However, no sports betting is offered with mobile devices and gamblers need to be at least 21 to enter the establishment and place their wagers.

So how has the location fared these last two years in a state where residents have access to a mobile sportsbook platform with the Oregon Lottery?

Chinook Winds, Two Years Later

As it turns out, regulated sports betting is popular not just through mobile applications but through retail sports wagering venues as well.

“There are retailers who have sports betting near Washington and people who live in Washington like to be able to come over and play those games, so similar thing with Oregon Lottery’s Scoreboard, just drive across the river, come across the border that’s in Ontario, sit down, and have a cold one with the buds and make some wagers,” said Chuck Baumann with the Oregon Lottery when Chinook first launched.

Oregon sports gaming is very much a sought-after industry by sports bettors in the state. The Coronavirus Pandemic hurt the casino and other retail sportsbooks because of the shutdowns and then the limited capacity at which they could operate once they reopened. That, coupled with sports taking a hiatus for a while didn’t give Chinook the running start it needed in its first year of operations.

Going into their second year, they were pretty much non-existent. Yet, they are seeing more activity after hitting their two-year mark and that is expected to continue in the years to come. Sports bettors in the area prefer Chinook over the Oregon Lottery’s Scoreboard app when it has come to wagers and odds offered to them. The only thing that has held up more wagers being placed at this location is the fact that people have been hesitant to visit the facility.

What’s Been Done And What’s To Come

In 2019, the total Oregon revenue and handle for all sportsbooks and the lottery’s mobile app statewide were $45,272,113 in handle and $2,924,341 in revenue. In 2020, with the pandemic, the handle stood at $218,246,357 with a revenue of $20,072,367.

The Coronavirus Pandemic is giving Chinook Winds another hit after having somewhat of a good stream of business, as they’ve had to close their doors due to a spike in COVID-19 cases as of late. While on the year they should do better than last year, it’s likely that this sportsbook will have a very positive five-year anniversary because its three-year anniversary will also be plagued by pandemic-related issues, having to celebrate their two-year anniversary with closed doors.

News tags: Chinook Winds Casino Resort | Chuck Baumann | Coronavirus | Lincoln City | Oregon | Oregon Lottery | Scoreboard