Illegal World Cup Sweepstakes Overtake the Workplace

by Katy Murcutt - Paralegal

07 June 2010, filed under Employment

The majority of sweepstakes being held in offices during the build up to the beginning of the World Cup are likely to be illegal under current gambling laws.

The World Cup, which begins this Friday, is on the forefront of fans minds the world over. However, despite the fun of placing bets in the workplace or donating to charity, many of these actions are being operated unlawfully.

The Gambling Act 2005 outlaws unlicensed betting and lotteries, regardless of how few people participate, or whether there is a charitable donation made with any profit that has been created from the bet undertaken. Provided certain requirements are met, a workplace lottery or sweepstake can be classed as legal.

A sweepstake that operated to allocate a World Cup team to each office worker would be deemed a lottery, and shall be a legal sweepstake provided it is not advertised outside of the office, the ticket states the promoters name and address as well as who may purchase a ticket and the price of such, and that the winnings shall not be transferrable. A ticket must be produced in a document format displaying all information clearly and, where the office may be spread throughout multiple buildings, the sweepstake may only be performed within one building where a company has a multi-complex.

Where the participants choose the football team they wish to support or predict the final scores of, such competition would be classed as betting under the Gambling Act 2005. In order for betting in the workplace to be deemed lawful, those involved must be the employees of the same company and must place or accept their bets internally and outside of the course of business.

Finally, there are prize competitions which function outside of the scope of the Gambling Act 2005. Despite this, such competitions are closely defined and subject to strict terms. For a competition to be classed as a prize competition the use of judgement is fundamental to the definition of such in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005.