The Oregon Lottery ensures and communicates progress in implementing the Responsible Gaming Code of Practice. We report on annual measures and new initiatives each year using a combination of internal monitoring and independent assessments. The Data Impacts Report is designed to report on annual program measures that look at year-over-year trends when possible, while the key accomplishments and new initiatives sections document new or non-repeatable activities specific to the given year.

Our Goals and Code of Practice

Lottery’s overarching program goal is to leverage and support responsible and problem gambling community relationships and to advance the promotion of safe play (RG) strategies and resource utilization.

The Oregon Lottery devotes funding and resources where they will have the most positive impact on the promotion of safer gambling practices (RG) and creating awareness of resources and how to access them for people experiencing issues with gambling (PG). We focus on:

our goals

• Providing information and tools to help players recognize that gambling is an activity that carries risk and to help them develop and utilize safer play strategies that enable them to enjoy Lottery games as entertainment.
• Expanding outreach and resources to reach and engage more players at more points in their help-seeking journey, practicing inclusion, and reducing stigma.
• Creating awareness of resources and counseling services for those impacted by their own or someone else’s gambling. We aim to ensure that people know how to access help, and that they understand it’s free, confidential, and that it works.

Code of Practice

The Responsible Gaming Code of Practice commits the Lottery to implement programs focused on research, as well as employee, stakeholder, and retailer engagement.  It also addresses player education, retail & online gaming, treatment & referral resources, and advertising & promotion.

Annually, Lottery deploys a strategic “always on” advertising schedule with the goal of connecting people to information, tools, and help. Robust content is available on the Oregon Problem Gambling Resource website, and we utilize targeted digital, keyword, print, social and other media to drive Oregonians to the site. OPGR.org offers many options for connecting visitors to help, including phone, chat, and text.

engagement and media conversion

The goal of advertising and marketing outreach is engagement. It is not enough to get people to visit the site (site sessions); we need them to engage and take an action (conversion). In 2023, we refined our messaging and media targeting, becoming even more efficient with budget and more effective in conversions.

Despite seeing a decline in site sessions in FY24, conversion percentage increased by over 41%.

Source #2, #5

The Oregon Lottery provides annual responsible gaming training to all Lottery Retailer staff and to all Oregon Lottery employees. In addition to the training, pre- and post-survey surveys are included these training modules to gauge the efficacy of this training and to foster continuous improvement.

Video Lottery Retailer Training

This required training module provides retailers with the tools they need to communicate effectively when facing gambling related situations during interactions with customers or the public. Content includes sharing information on how the games work, dispelling common myths about gambling, and promoting responsible gaming as part of an excellent customer service experience.

Key Accomplishments & New Initiatives

In 2023 we began work to validate our hypothesis that there’s a big opportunity to effectively help previously unreached audiences such as: those who are just beginning to think about changing their gambling; people who have historically ignored RG outreach because it didn’t resonate with their situation; those who have seen PG outreach messaging but felt stigmatized or weren’t interested in quitting altogether; and people who previously tried to find information about changing their habits and were only served information about addiction.

We talked to these types of players to better understand their beliefs, needs, and challenges. We collaborated with treatment and prevention providers to learn how services and programs could support this group. We conducted extensive research and began testing language, messaging, online tools and advertising. White it’s too early to report results, we have included an early look at some key accomplishments for this important work.

inclusive & non-stigmatizing messaging guidelines

In 2023 we focused on refining marketing outreach to advance the promotion of safer play and increase help resource utilization. The first step to this iterative improvement was to ensure we approach these topics inclusively, to reduce stigma and resistance to treatment messaging, and to combat stigma related to seeking out and using RG tools and information. The Inclusive Messaging & Non-Stigmatizing Messaging Guidelines were developed with an industry expert to help us shape marketing strategies, assets, and messaging that support the above mentioned goals.

multi-phased research

In 2023 we began a multi-phased research initiative to explore how we engage and support people who are considering making a change to how they gamble. Part 1 was completed late in the year and included an extensive literature review as well as interviews with researchers and treatment and prevention professionals. Part 2 began in December 2023 with a project to capture digital online diaries with players followed by in-depth one-on-one interviews. Results will be published and shared mid-2024.

website redesign & Addition of moderation content

In 2023 the OPGR.org website was updated to reflect new language guidelines and to include more robust content for site visitors seeking gambling moderation and habit change resources. Dedicated moderation-focused content was added with a dedicated content page at opgr.org/cut-back/.

Industry Involvement

The Oregon Lottery is an associate member of the World Lottery Association (WLA) and currently holds the highest level of certification at level 4. WLA’s values are based on a commitment to the highest standards of corporate responsibility and are based on WLA Responsible Gaming Principles and Framework.

The Oregon Lottery is currently a Gold Member of the National Council on Problem Gambling and actively holds positions on the board of directors and various committees. Membership provides a variety of experiences across multiple industries to strengthen NCPG’s leadership as the organization continues to grow and evolve.

The Oregon Council on Problem Gambling (OCPG) is the state affiliate to the National Council on Problem Gambling. The OCPG’s purpose is to promote the health of Oregonians by supporting efforts to minimize gambling related harm. The Oregon Lottery holds a position on the board of directors along with other interested parties and stakeholders from the gaming industry, treatment and prevention field, the recovery community and state and county administrators.

The Oregon Lottery is an Associate Member of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL). Currently, Oregon holds “Sustaining” level certification through NASPL and NCPG which is the highest level available.  In addition, the Oregon Lottery director serves as the chair of the NASPL Responsible Gambling sub-committee.  NASPL’s mission is to assemble and disseminate information and benefits of state and provincial lottery organizations through education and communications and, where appropriate, publicly advocate the positions of NASPL on matters of general policy.

The Oregon Lottery actively holds a board member seat on the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC). RGC exists to ensure that gambling safeguards are in place, to promote the wellbeing of people and communities They have been a leader in the prevention of problem gambling in Canada and globally for 40+ years.