Pennsylvania bill proposes legalizing March Madness office pools

A Pennsylvania state Senator has proposed new legislation, which if enacted, would make small office pools betting on sporting events legal as far as the commonwealth is concerned.

Senator Lisa Boscola (D, 18th District) introduced SB255 in January, creating the possibility of Pennsylvania legalizing March Madness office pools and the like. The bill would amend the state’s Title XVIII to create “authorized pools” which would be exempt from the current sports betting penalty of a first-degree misdemeanor. The bill states the following specific language for qualification for an authorized pool:

• Pool has to be of 100 or fewer persons
• Maximum wager to enter the pool is $20
• The monetary wager can be the only thing of value included in the bet
• Prizes in the pool must go to the pool winner or a designated non-profit organization, and all of the money in the pool must be paid out to either of those two destinations or a combination of the two.
• The pool must be between people who share a legitimate familial, professional or social relationship

To make things clearer, if this bill were to become law, the official position of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania on your workplace’s office March Madness pool would dramatically change from disapproval to indifference. You and 99 of your co-workers could freely wager up to $20 a piece on your brackets, and as long as the winner(s) get all the winnings, Pennsylvania couldn’t care any less.

There are two things for Pennsylvania residents to remember, however: the bill is currently in committee, and it’s uncertain whether it will even reach the full Senate floor for an actual vote. It’s even more unclear what if any chance the bill would have in the Pennsylvania House, and if Governor Tom Wolf would sign the bill into law.

Even if this bill becomes law, office March Madness pools and the like would still be illegal under federal law, specifically the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

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Should the bill die in committee or at some other stage, it’s still another step toward the repeal of federal and state laws outlawing gambling on sports that is gaining momentum. Set against a multitude of governing policies that seem less and less realistic for the every day lives of common people, this is a refreshing reminder that sometimes, politicians do things that make sense.