March Madness Bracket Pools: Are They Legal In Minnesota?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- With March Madness starting Thursday, millions are expected to watch college basketball teams compete for the NCAA Men's Championship. While many watch for the love of the game, some are hoping to make a bit of cash.
But are tournament pools actually legal? As it turns out, it depends.
With March Madness around the corner, basketball fans - and many non-fans - will fill out a bracket, wagering on the winners and losers. But if you're in an organized pool at school or the office, there's a chance it's not legal in Minnesota.
"I had to look into this myself because I run our office pool at our law firm," said Blake Nelson, partner at Hellmuth & Johnson.
Nelson says whether your pool is legal revolves around the definition of a bet.
"If they're wagering on something outside of their control, that's a bet," Nelson said. "If you're not accepting fees to enter your NCAA pool it's legal. If you are accepting fees, it's probably not legal because it will be considered a bet. Because it's a systematic operation of gambling."
If you've already paid to be in a pool, Nelson says you shouldn't panic.
"I'm not worried that the state of Minnesota is going to be running around trying to investigate office pools," Nelson said. "I think there's way too many of them and that they don't have the staff. So even if it's a technical violation, I wouldn't be worried."
But his advice for those doing a bracket is to provide incentive in other ways.
"If you want to make it more exciting, the business could pay out a prize or give something else to the winner like a shirt," Nelson said. "But above all else just don't accept cash from employees or those participating in the pool."
Nelson also said that gambling winnings and losses are taxable. So if you do win a bracket challenge, you technically have to report it to the IRS.
As far as who would be held responsible in a pool that accepts fees, it's the organizer of that pool, especially if they take a cut of the money collected.
To see how your picks stack up against the WCCO team, go to wcco.com/bracketchallenge and fill out your bracket!