Lawmakers Push For Oregon Sports Betting To Fund Retirement Plans

• Sports betting in Oregon will be regulated and provided by the state lottery.
• The PERS currently has a $27 billion unfunded pension liability.
• The State Lottery is working towards providing mobile sports betting in Oregon.

SALEM, Ore. – Lawmakers may have found the perfect way to use the revenue to come from Oregon sports betting. That plan calls for the proceeds to go towards funding the state’s Public Employee Retirement System (PERS).

Oregon’s PERS currently has $27 billion in unfunded pension liability.

To combat this issue, Senate Bill 1049 was introduced. The bill called for lengthening the repayment period, asking public employees to self-fund some of their pension, and restructuring how many hours retirees would work.

Earlier this week, an amendment concerning Oregon sports betting was added.

“Once implemented, 100% of net sports betting proceeds, after winnings and administrative expenditures, will be transferred to the Administrative Services Economic Development Fund.”

After the proposal, the Joint Subcommittee on Capital Construction recommended adding that amendment.

Although, even if this plan is adopted, it will not completely erase the pension liability.

Those in the sports betting industry know just how volatile sports wagering revenues can be. To compare, New Jersey sees their state’s sports betting handle reach hundreds of millions of dollars each month but retain only a fraction of it.

The Oregon Lottery will be in charge of offering the new gambling activity, which should help to increase the amount kept by the state. But, even then, the lottery is still susceptible to losing money the same way a normal sportsbook would.

This is why Kate Kondayen, spokeswoman for Oregon Governor Kate Brown, reiterated that the governor’s office couldn’t get an accurate projection for sports betting revenue.

“While it ultimately was not a primary driver of contributions under the Governor’s plan, she is pleased the Legislature is moving it forward,” said Kondayen.

The Oregon Lottery plans to roll out both retail and mobile sports betting in the state. The mobile sports wagering platform is set to launch first by leveraging the existing lottery app. Only betting on professional sports teams will be allowed.

News tags: OR SB 1049 | Oregon | sports betting