Employees Turfed for Playing Fantasy Sports Leagues

Entertainment these days is just a simple click away, with the internet providing everything imaginable from shopping, movies, music or fantasy gaming that has more variety available all the time. In this huge and sometimes overwhelming volume of content it is easy to get your wires crossed and make a wrong turn on the internet highway. There are a few such situations that even the federal government of the USA seems to look down a different path even thought the road looks the same, almost. Such is the case of Fantasy gaming, which some think this is gambling under a different name with all of the same attributes as real online gambling.

In a report by the Wall Street Journal, white-collar employees are being terminated by firms for breaking company rules against gambling, specifically playing fantasy sports. Something that surprises many because the government seems to allow the activity without penalty to operators or participants.

Fidelity Investments, was used as an example by the paper reporting that four employees were sacked for participation in a fantasy sports pool which violated company policy on gambling in the workplace. No company resources were utilized and the workers had glowing work records. The investment company said playing in office pools and leagues was a clear violation of those rules. Fantasy sports gambling is compromised by the fact that cash or prizes are offered as incentive for performance that is mostly given to chance. Lawmakers and law enforcement are keeping a safe distance from the popular past time making sure they are not seen as too harsh when it comes to curtailing the freedoms of the American public. To go from a wager on a fantasy game of football to a real bet on a real game of football doesn't seem like to big a leap for most but for the government that would be just unthinkable. After all what would America be without fantasy.