Wagering at Work on the Madness: It's Complex

The article, “Wagering at Work on the Madness: It’s Complex,” featured in Sports Press NW, discussed how March Madness pools are innocent fun to most, but the nation’s biggest annual gambling orgy can cause lots of awkwardness and trouble in the workplace.

Clarence Belnavis weighed in on the legal aspect of March Madness in the workplace.

“What’s legal and what’s not — it’s tricky, because state laws are all over the place,” said Clarence Belnavis. “We all know the office pool is a low priority because law enforcement has better things to do. But besides the legality, March Madness, the World Cup, Super Bowl, Olympics, plus all the fantasy sports gambling, have repercussions in the workplace.

“Things can get crazy. People who should be working are talking about the pros and cons of this team or that team, this player or that player. It’s one thing if you or I have a side wager between us, but having a few sore winners and many sore losers exchanging money in the workplace can be a problem. Not to mention that they’re stealing time from the company, which sees the normal production of widgets fall from 50 an hour to 12.”

 “It can be a minefield if companies are not careful,” Clarence said. “People have passions and biases that tend to come out more when sports and gambling are involved. You might be surprised at how bad blood plays out through pools and gambling.

To read the full article, please visit Sports Press NW.