As one of South Florida’s top staffing agencies, we know that informal gambling in the office is as standard a part of work culture as chatting around the water cooler. In fact, according to a recent survey by Career Builder, one in five U.S. employees have participated in March Madness pools and more than one third of workers admitted to entering Super Bowl pools in the past.
So is this all good-natured fun, or could it become an HR nightmare?
Well, first of all, as you probably know, betting on sports teams is illegal in most states – including Florida. However, there are states where you can have office pools as long as they are small and the person organizing it doesn’t benefit monetarily.
If you’re in a state, like Florida, where it’s illegal, it’s unlikely the feds are staked outside your business, monitoring the betting activities of your employees. However, if you get caught, understand that the penalties can range from small fines to felony charges to imprisonment, depending on the situation.
If you see the office pool as “all in good fun” and choose to look the other way, then make sure your employees only bet small amounts. When pools start getting into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, that’s when you can begin to draw unwanted attention.
Also, be sure to avoid involving multiple offices in different states in the pool if, for instance, you operate in one state where office pools are legal, but also do business in another state where they’re not. In fact, sending emails or making calls across state lines regarding gambling activities could invoke federal statutes, along with gambling-related state statutes.
And if you don’t have a gambling policy in place, as most employers don’t, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, then you might want to consider developing one. If you do have such a policy in place, then now could be a good time to review it and make sure it’s up to date.