Football Pools

AJA

As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, I am wondering whether employers assume liability if they know about the pools & allow them to go on? Has an employer ever been criminally prosecuted over this? And on the civil side, what happens, for example, if the money disappears or if there is a dispute about who won? Does the employer somewhow get dragged into the fray? Is there any case law about any of this?

SMace

Yes, it is illegal betting. In my sate the ATF deals with it. One year they raided a local Golf Club and hammered their ass, including the Pro. A member turned them in. How nice.

Paul in Cannon Beach

I have never heard of anyone actually prosecuted for running an office football pool but here is an article on the subject:

[url]http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1999/10/25/editorial4.html?page=1[/url]

Personally I see them as harmless and generally a positive and fun aspect of the "community" that is our workplace.

That said, our football pool has no money involved. Just a few small prizes and a lot of pride. I gave up after a few years of under .500 performances.

WT

There will always be football pools. My only advice would be to keep the display discreet. In other words, a big chart should not be posted on the office wall. Try to keep some element of reasonable doubt as to whether the employer condoned the activity. By the way, that is hard to do if you participate.

Dutch2

I recall that last year I noticed a regular size sheet of papaer on the bullentin board in one of our breakrooms and it was a pool for the superbowl. As I was looking this over, I also noticed that our Chairman and CEO each had their name in a couple of squares. This also makes it very difficult to police.
Good luck.

Irie

Our company has always had football, basketball, etc. pools and yes, our president participates in all of them. Our attorneys told us that these are perfectly legal as long as the person who is running the pool does not take any money as payment for his involvement in it.

System

I talked to a lawyer friend of mine who runs an office betting pool, and they said it depends on state law. $$$ I haven't heard of an employer being liable, but it could happen. All you need is a disgruntled employee to call the police, a DA wanting some publicity, and you could have the camera crew from [i]Cops[/i] in your lobby. Unlikely, but possible.

James Sokolowski
HRhero.com

Paul in Cannon Beach

As a follow up after the Super Bowl, here in the Pacific Northwest most employers have decided to ban any future super bowl office pools or any discussion of football for that matter.

ray a

Next time Seattle makes it to the big game, bet on the ref's.