Oregon Ignores Suit, Begins Betting on NBA

The Oregon Lottery’s venture into sports with wagering on professional football expanded today into basketball over strong protests and a lawsuit from the league.

The new version of the betting game Sports Action includes outcomes of the weekend’s National Basketball Assn. contests. (See Durslag, C3.)

The lottery has been operating the weekly Sports Action game based on National Football League contests since Sept. 6. The new version of the game will include both football and basketball until the NFL playoffs end in late January.

Sports Action tickets go on sale each Wednesday for the coming weekend’s games.

Lottery Director Jim Davey said Tuesday that the new version of the game was all set despite the fact that the NBA took legal action last week seeking to prohibit sales.

No restraining order was requested in the lawsuit brought in federal court in Eugene, and Davey said no date has been set for a court hearing.

“The game is on,” he said, urging bettors not to hold back because of the legal cloud.

“People shouldn’t hesitate in buying tickets because of the lawsuit,” Davey said. “It’s not going to impact them one way or the other.”

The NFL protested when the lottery began its football game, the only one of its kind in the country, but did not take legal action.

The NBA argues that the game will unfairly exploit the league’s property rights, infringe on trademarks and violate federal gambling laws and state constitutional provisions.

The betting system for NBA-related games is the same as for the football game: About 14 basketball games will be listed on each weekend’s betting lineup. Bets will be based on point spreads developed by a Las Vegas odds maker. Bettors can wager at least $1 on three to 14 games.

The Portland Trail Blazers are not included in the game in what Davey said was a courtesy to the home state team.