No Gambling Policy

Practice Note
Gambling is prohibited by three federal laws—the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006—which outlaw betting on professional or amateur sports (with exceptions for a few states) and using the Internet for interstate wagers and unlawful gambling. Because placing sports wagers is illegal in most states, allowing your employees to engage in online betting, possibly with out-of-state employees, violates these laws.
State laws vary. A few states allow small pools that limit entry fees and forbid the “house” (the employer) from keeping any winnings; however, federal laws will still apply.

XYZ Corporation's policy is to prohibit absolutely any gambling on the part of its employees. Gambling losses constitute a threat to the company's security, and the practice will not be tolerated. Your business needs will dictate whether you should have a broad or more specific policy in place. But this point, the NFL’s larger gambling policy is hard to take seriously anyway, given that it’d be very hard to watch even a small portion of any NFL game without seeing a FanDuel.

• A well considered gambling policy is a good first step towards protecting everyone from the dangers of problem gambling. Still, you cannot just forget about this issue after you distribute your policy. Here are some active measures you can take to protect your business. Keep a close watch on the movement of company money.
• In a previous report by the Inquirer, the DOJ has issued a legal opinion last Oct. 8, saying the President can implement a “no casino policy” without needing congressional action.

Most workplace policies will prohibit gambling, some with a few exceptions, such as donating all winnings to a charity or creating no-entry-fee pools in which the employer provides a prize.

Objective

[Company Name] prohibits most forms of gambling in the workplace, including professional or organized gambling activities. Where federal and state laws allow, the company may allow exceptions to this prohibition for [Company Name]-sponsored events supporting a charitable or fundraising cause.

Employees must seek the approval of the human resource (HR) department prior to engaging in any gambling activities. Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action, including possible termination of employment.

The HR department ensures that [Company Name] is in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local gambling laws.

You walk down the halls of your workplace and activity is at a level of frenzy you’ve seldom seen. It has nothing to do with work, of course. It’s all about who will win the big game on Sunday.

OK, most of it is harmless and will expire as the clock winds down on the field. But there may also be an undercurrent of money changing hands, based on who won, who lost, and what the point spread was. This may not be so harmless.

As we noted in yesterday’s Daily Advisor, the only side that always loses in workplace gambling is the employer. Lost productivity due to time spent on just one of many sports gambling activities, Fantasy Football, costs employers a cool billion dollars a week.

No Gambling Policy For Casino Staff

What it all points to is that you may need a policy on workplace gambling. Easy to write? Not so fast, sport. Actually, there are quite a number of points that need to be observed in formulating it. Thanks to SmartPolicies, BLR’s CD-based encyclopedia of more than 350 prewritten, and ready-to-use HR policies, here are some questions to ask.

–Will you prohibit all gambling or just illegal gambling? What about in special situations, such as entertaining clients?

–Are all gambling items banned from the premises? How about a deck of cards or a handheld video poker game? Or a legally purchased lottery ticket?

–What is your policy on searching employees and on what happens if they refuse to cooperate with an investigation?

–Problem gambling is often considered an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not specifically protect gambling addicts from adverse employment actions, but state law may. What are the provisions in your state?

No Gambling Policy Tax

–Can you legally ban employees from gambling during off-duty hours if you feel it reflects badly on your brand or organization?

No Gambling At Work Policy

–Where are the limits if you choose only a partial ban? Is it OK for individual employees to purchase lottery tickets but not OK for employees to jointly buy them?

If you’d like to know how SmartPolicies answered these questions, here’s an abridged version of the sample policy on the CD. Keep in mind that all SmartPolicies are modifiable on your computer, so if this one is tougher (or more lenient) than what you’d prefer, it can be instantly customized to your use.

“Gambling is not permitted on company property during work hours, during breaks, during lunch periods in the company cafeteria, while traveling on company business, at company functions, or while entertaining clients.

“Company facilities may not be used to gamble (examples are given.) Gambling paraphernalia is not permitted on company facilities or in company vehicles. Gambling includes, but is not limited to, poker, horse betting, fantasy football bets, etc., etc.

“Any drawings, contests, or similar advertising promotions are to be approved by the human resources [or legal] department to ensure the promotion is not an illegal lottery.

“Employees desks, lockers, vehicles, Internet usage, email … may be inspected to ensure compliance with this policy. Employees are expected to cooperate with any investigation and employees who violate this policy are subject to discipline, up to and including termination.”

There are more than 350 other prewritten, legally reviewed policies on this CD and, if you’ll allow us a short plug for it, we think SmartPolicies is the program that smart HR managers should use to quickly and effectively meet all their HR policy writing needs. You can prove that to yourself by taking our marketing department’s offer to let you evaluate the program for 30 days at no cost or obligation. Details on how to do that, along with a look at the full table of contents and another sample of the program, can be accessed by clicking on the links below.

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No Gambling Policy