How to Start an Office Betting Pool

An office betting pool can be fun and create camaraderie among employees from every department. Done simply it doesn't have to take a lot of time either. Employees can put in their dollars and pick their numbers and share a laugh with each other when the results come in. Office betting pools should not involve large sums of money, which can trigger conflicts and take the fun out of it.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Check with the laws in your state before setting up a betting pool. In some states, even small betting among friends is illegal. Though you may not intend for anyone outside your pool to know about it, you're better off covering yourself legally.

2. Make sure your company does not have any policies against playing numbers games among employees. While office betting pools may not be illegal, some businesses and government offices will fire anyone who runs a betting game.

3. Design a simple pool for the sport of your interest or copy one from the Internet. There are all kinds of pool programs available now. Some are complicated, while others just give you the grids and tell you how to fill them out.

4. Designate one person in the office who doesn't play to hold the money. Collect each bet from a player when he or she picks the numbers. Requiring payment to play a number will save you a lot of headaches and hard feelings later on, especially when you end up with people who refuse or can't afford to pay their share.

5. Keep the bets small. People get into trouble with the law, with their companies and with each other when large sums of money become involved.