Fantasy Football Gambling Costs Four Fidelity Workers Their Jobs

Fantasy football started out as a way for friends to enjoy the game of football while gaining some bragging rights. The game has evolved into one of the major gambling industries in the US, and it is offered by some of the biggest sports news agencies in the country.

Now, however, the backlash against fantasy football has begun from employers. According to a report by the Star-Telegram, four Fidelity Investments workers have been fired from their jobs because they were playing fantasy football at work. The firings come in the midst of most fantasy football leagues playoffs.

Fidelity has not confirmed that the employees were fired because of fantasy football, but they did acknowledge that the firings were a result of a violation of company policy. The firings, according to a Fidelity spokesman, came out of a disregard for, "professional conduct standards for our employees."

This is not the first time that fantasy football has been linked to poor performance on the job. Estimations have been made that in 2008 over $600 million per week was lost in productivity because of fantasy football.

While some employers look down on the game, others have embraced it. There are thousands of companies across the US that have their own fantasy football leagues. Even ESPN anchors often comment on their fantasy teams.

ESPN, CBS Sportsline, and Yahoo are three of the biggest providers of fantasy football. It is estimated that by next year, over $30 million people in North America will participate in fantasy sports.

December 17, 2009
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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