Playing the Field

The Oregon Racing Commission keeps looking for ways to please the industry.

In two recent instances WW examined, the Oregon Racing Commission moved unilaterally to expand gambling, only to be blocked by state officials once they learned about the plans.

In 2021, the commission granted a company called Luckii.com a license—which it would need in order to offer mobile betting on “historical horse races,” which simulate racing using historical data but produce different outcomes than the original races. But legal experts in multiple states have determined they are basically video slot machines, which Oregon does not allow.

Emails WW obtained under a public records request show that license approval for Luckii.com shocked officials at the Oregon Lottery, the Oregon Department of Justice, the Oregon State Police, and the Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes.

The reason: The Racing Commission’s decision gave Luckii.com permission to in essence run slot machines on mobile phones, a practice forbidden to the Oregon Lottery and the state’s tribes.

“ It’s unclear to Grand Ronde how this type of gaming is legal in Oregon and how such online gaming is regulated,” Rob Green, a lawyer representing the Grand Ronde, wrote to Gov. Kate Brown’s office on Feb. 25, 2021. “The Tribe is very concerned about the continued expansion of gaming in Oregon without any notice or input from Oregon tribes.”

State Rep. Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) was among the lawmakers who reacted with fury when they discovered the Racing Commission had greenlighted Luckii.com’s application.

Evans fired off an angry email to then-Racing Commission director Jack McGrail. “At no time in the discussions, NO TIME, was the potential of a mobile gaming experience—as in via a ‘smartphone’—a part of the conversation,” Evans wrote.

Legislators passed a new law in June 2021 outlawing more betting on historical horse racing, stopping Luckii.com cold.

But the Racing Commission had another plan. Even as Luckii.com got mothballed, the Racing Commission was working with Dutch Bros Coffee founder Travis Boersma, who wanted to revitalize racing at his hometown track, Grants Pass Downs, by adding 225 historical horse racing machines. (They would be actual terminals, rather than the internet-based gambling Luckii.com offered.)

“ When Travis came out of the woodwork, it was manna from heaven,” says Charles Williamson, the ORC chair. “But the tribes squashed that.”

Tribes complained to Gov. Kate Brown that the Racing Commission was moving toward a major expansion of gambling with no consultation. Brown agreed. On Feb. 11, 2022, the Oregon Department of Justice killed the proposal.

The planned concentration of 225 electronic gaming machines offering games of chance constitutes a casino,” the DOJ wrote in a legal opinion. “Therefore, [the plan] violates the constitutional prohibition against casinos.”

Williamson says the DOJ got it wrong.

“ We were very upset,” Williamson says. “It was a terrible decision, totally political. We are upset about it still.” NIGEL JAQUISS.

PARADISE PAVED: The 110 acres where Portland Meadows once stood is now a colony of Amazon warehouses.

Despite her usual unfailing courtesy, Winn has not always cooperated with the Legislature, which sets her agency’s budget. After the passage of Senate Bill 1504 in 2022 to limit betting on dogs, she stonewalled a request by state Rep. Gomberg, one of the bill’s sponsors, for information about compliance with the new law.

That led to a remarkable moment in February when Winn refused to answer Gomberg’s questions about the dog racing bill in a public hearing.

“I’ve been advised not to comment,” Winn, whose annual salary is $143,952, told Gomberg, who co-chairs the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development. That panel oversees the Racing Commission budget. She cited guidance from the Oregon Department of Justice, which advises the agency.

That refusal echoed around the Capitol. State Rep. Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) says he was “stunned” by Winn’s stance.

“Anybody who decides to take the Fifth or give a squirrely answer like that, it’s a bad sign,” Evans says. “There should be an investigation into what’s behind that.”

This session, Winn has appeared in front of both Ways and Means and the House Committee on Gambling Regulation.

In hearings, it quickly became clear that lawmakers had little understanding of what the Racing Commission does or of Oregon’s puzzlingly dominant position in the realm of betting on animals.

“ Why do we do this?” Lively asked Winn at a March 14 hearing.

“It’s extremely complicated and hard to get your head around,” Winn told the committee. “But we are basically getting free money.”

In 2022, when Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) and Rep. Gomberg sought to crack down on dog betting with SB 1504, which prohibited Oregon from taking greyhound bets from people living in states where such wagers are illegal, the gambling industry pushed back.

“Senate Bill 1504, if passed, will adversely affect almost every Oregon ADW and will definitely cause many, if not all, of the affected ADWs to exit Oregon and find a new business jurisdiction to avoid a significant loss of revenue from their businesses as currently operated,” testified Shawn Miller, a lobbyist for TwinSpires. “The passage of SB 1504 will also likely decimate the Oregon Racing Commission and cast doubt on the viability of the entire racing industry in Oregon.”

The Senate bill passed. None of the ADWs left Oregon over it, although Winn now says U.S. OffTrack, one of the smallest providers, is leaving.

Sharon Harmon, longtime director of the Oregon Humane Society, says it’s time Oregon reconciled its reputation as a state with the strongest legal protections for animals who live here with its role as the leading facilitator of betting on animals worldwide.

“It’s ironic that we are promoting an industry built on cruelty,” Harmon says. “That doesn’t seem to match the values of our citizenry.”

Gov. Tina Kotek also says it’s time for a serious look at the commission’s work.

“Gov. Kotek has concerns about the oversight and accountability of the Racing Commission and has directed staff to evaluate options for potential reforms,” says Kotek spokeswoman Anca Matica.

Theil is determined to stop Oregon from continuing to take greyhound bets from people in states that ban racing. “All these fights come back to Oregon in the end,” he says.

And after questioning Racing Commission director Winn about why her agency serves as a national betting hub, the chair of the House Committee on Gambling Regulation came to a similar conclusion.

“I don’t see why we are still doing this in the state of Oregon,” Lively says. “There doesn’t seem to be a justification. But we get hooked on revenue in this state. And once we are hooked, it’s very hard to get off.”