Thinking about getting that Super Bowl office pool going this week just in time for the big game? Think again.

According to California Penal Code section 333.9, pool setting or betting of any kind in the workplace is illegal.

While this law varies from state to state, in California, it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine no greater than $250.

That is, of course, if you get caught.

Roseville defense attorney Lindsey Balcom is a former district attorney for Sacramento County and said she has never prosecuted such a case.

Now a defense attorney going on two years, the situation is similar here in Roseville.

“We’ve never had a case like that come through our office,” Balcom said.

Roseville Police Department spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther has been with the department 26 years and said she has never seen anyone cited for office pool violations.

“I suppose if someone was running a Ponzi scheme, victimizing people, it might be a more prosecutable crime,” Gunther said.

That being said, betting on or participating in an office pool is still illegal in California, according to the letter of the law.

~ Toby Lewis