This week millions of Americans will engage in an illegal activity. And they'll do it at their place of work, no less.
As the nation gears up for the NCAA tournament, Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel tweeted a friendly reminder that the governing body's official position is in opposition to brackets.
Reminder, the NCAA officially opposes office bracket pools. http://t.co/snK97oZDlp
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 17, 2014
From the NCAA's website, here's the organization's official position:
Does the NCAA really oppose the harmless small-dollar bracket office pool for the Men’s Final Four?
Yes! Office pools of this nature are illegal in most states. The NCAA is aware of pools involving $100,000 or more in revenue. Worse yet, the NCAA has learned these types of pools are often the entry point for youth to begin gambling. Fans should enjoy following the tournament and filling out a bracket just for the fun of it, not on the amount of money they could possibly win.
So there you have it. While the NCAA rakes in $11 billion over 14 years from TV rights to the tournament, it is technically illegal for someone to profit from a $10 office pool. Of course, the NCAA is simply following gambling regulations with this policy, but there's something cheeky about the way it informs fans of its stance.
In case you forgot, this is the same organization that polices eight-second phone calls and extra servings of pasta.
Perhaps it is no coincidence in the timing that one day after the tournament brackets were released, there was a federal lawsuit was filed, calling the NCAA an unlawful cartel.
(H/T to Business Insider)
