With the start of a new NFL football season around the corner, many employers are likely hearing chatter around the workplace about the upcoming season, predictions, and office football leagues.  Office betting pools can have both a positive and negative impact on the workplace.  While most employees view betting pools as typical office fun, employers often suffer the consequences, such as a drain on productivity and resources as well as the legal issues that go with employees gambling at work. However, employers can take certain steps to ensure that gambling in the workplace does not violate state law, impact productivity, or result in multiple HR complaints while maintaining high employee morale.

Fantasy Football and Office Betting Pools

Office betting pools and online gambling have become commonplace in everyday society and many employers themselves probably participate in fantasy leagues.  Both the fall and spring bring new excitement to the office as employees get to revel in what seems to have become somewhat of a sacred tradition – NFL Fantasy Football and NCAA March Madness.

The amount of money that Americans spend during these two times of the year is shocking.  According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, roughly 57.4 million people will participate in fantasy sports leagues this year, with an estimated spending of $556 per user.  That amounts to about $31.9 billion in gambling on fantasy sports.  The fantasy sports fever that continues to sweep the country cannot be understated.  Within the past decade, the number of people gambling on fantasy sports and their spending habits have more than tripled.  During March Madness alone, NCAA tournament bracket pools cause Americans to pour approximately $3 billion into online bracket pools, and that doesn’t even count the numerous contests put on by Continue reading →