Fewer employees say they will be participating this year in betting pools, which
violate rarely enforced laws in many states, MarketWatch.com reports.
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Download NowTwo popular sporting events for betting pools are the Super Bowl and the NCAA
men's basketball tournament, which begins today and ends April 4.
Sixty-one percent of employees say they participate in pools, down from 74
percent in 2000, according to a recent survey by Vault, Inc.
"There are probably betting-pool sheets being photocopied at police stations
across the country right now," says Mark Oldman, president of Vault Inc.
While the tournament, dubbed March Madness, can reduce productivity as workers
check scores and talk about games, many firms continue to tolerate the betting
pools.
In the Vault survey, 1 percent of employees said they found themselves in
trouble over a pool.
For the basketball tournament, some firms have decided to participate in ways
that eliminate the exchange of money among employees in the workplace.
At Med Health Management, a New Jersey firm, employees can participate in a tournament contest without using their own money because the company is providing the prize for the winner, MarketWatch reports.
"We're funding it so we don't really see it as a form of gambling,"
says Andy Weissberg, executive vice president at Med Health Managment. "Our
attitude is 'we know you are going to do this and you might as well have fun
doing it.' Sometimes little things go a long way."
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