U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Gambling


When most people think of gambling, they think of poker, craps, and dice. Surely you wouldn't want those kinds of games going on in your workplace, but what about football pools, bingo, and group purchasing of lottery tickets? These activities could be construed as gambling, too. To be on the safe side, you should not allow even these "harmless" forms of gambling to occur on your property.

A gambling policy may be especially important for your business if large amounts of cash change hands.

Here's a list of things to do in developing your policy against gambling:

  • Define gambling or the type of behavior that you want to restrict.
  • Emphasize that some kinds of gambling are illegal.
  • Acknowledge that gambling can interfere with employee productivity and morale.
  • Be prepared to discipline the entrants in the World Series and Superbowl office pools as well as the card game during lunch if it takes place on company property.
  • Determine whether your policy should take into account off-duty behavior.

Example

If your business was a bank, you would be interested in ensuring that employees are not acting in a "fiscally irresponsible" manner either at work or away from work. An employee who gambles is a threat to the bank's resources.

  • Coordinate your gambling policy with your progressive step disciplinary program or carve out specific behavior that is subject to immediate termination.
  • Consider under what circumstances, if any, you would call the police for employee gambling activity.

Here are some sample gambling policy statements to use when creating a policy for your business:

Example

No gambling is allowed on the premises. This includes football and baseball pools, as well as all other forms of gambling.

Note that this next example not only doesn't allow gambling on company property, but prohibits it more broadly.

Example

ABC Company, Inc.'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.

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