NBA Drops Suit Against Ore. Lottery

The NBA has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the Oregon Lottery’s basketball betting game in return for the lottery’s pledge not to resume the game, a lottery official said today.

Last week, the Lottery Commission voted to discontinue the NBA portion of its weekly Sports Action game because of poor ticket sales.

The commission today approved a settlement between the NBA and the lottery in which the league agreed to drop its lawsuit if the lottery promised not to resurrect the game for at least five years.

“The bottom line is we don’t run the game for five years and the lawsuit goes away,” Lottery Director Jim Davey said in an interview.

The action doesn’t affect the lottery’s football betting game, which has enjoyed good ticket sales.

“We have every intention of continuing to run the Sports Action football game,” Davey said. “We think it’s a very successful game.”

In its first season last year, Sports Action added results of NBA games to its lineup as the National Football League season was ending. But wagering dropped sharply after football was over.

The NBA filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court nearly a year ago.