Is football fantasy allowed?

Fantasyfooty is free unless he is betting against friends every week?

Hi adam123 

He said that they all put 20 quid in at the start of it and whoever is the winner at the end gets all the money...?

Yeah alarm bells, it started back in October so the 20 quid would probably have gone in then? Either way its gambling and would bring back the gambling emotions so I'd tell him to tell his mates he has a problem and can't gamble anymore.

He might have to still pay the twenty quid to the winner but not be involved or get the winnings if he's won.  But best to not gamble full stop.  I play can't footy its on the internet and completely free, he can still play it but not as a bet.

Thing is if he won it would bring back thoughts of grandeur like I know lots about footy I can bet on it with my winnings

Good afternoon,

I have also played fantasy football for many years however there has never been any financial incentive for the winner.

He may not consider it to be gambling but there is a cash prize at the end of it which IMO does not help.

The fact you have asked the question in itself shows you are rightly concerned.

In his current situation probably best to not continue playing.

Best

Hi there,

Its at the very lowest end of any gambling scale. 

£20 over the course of the season for a bit of social inclusion is likely ok ... but again it comes back to the risk and mitigation of it.  

Personally, i’d overlooked FPL as a form of gambling, but on reflection I won’t be playing any games where there is a cash prize at stake. 

Hope this helps.

It’s gambling.

don’t do it.

end of story.

Hi there,

Thanks for your responses. He already paid for the season back when it started (and back when I didn't know there was a problem) but it just has resumed this week when I've just found out about the gambling and he's trying to get help. We talked about it and he does see the link so has said that he won't join in again next season if his friendship group play for money again but I think he is gonna carry on with this one as he paid for it before and said that its unlikely he'll win anyway. Its difficult with stuff like this because he also does stuff like in his golf society all putting 20 quid in to be part of the society but also as part of the prize if you come first out of everyone, its hard to know where to draw the line. 

Golf society is another tough one. It's a more regular 'stake' vs FF so is worse in some ways, but equally is a game of skill and no doubt a big part of his social life. 

I guess not partaking would require him to come clean to everybody in the group, is he ready for that? I've no doubt everybody would be supportive, but it's a big step.

You have to pay a bit into it each month to stay as part of the society, so some of it goes to admin/organisation fees, some goes towards their annual golf trip and some goes to prize money for the winner. He has said he isn't ready to tell his friends as he is too ashamed and worried about losing his self respect. I have said that if they were real friends they wouldn't see it that way but he only wants to tell them when he is ready which is his choice. Golf is his main hobby so I feel like it would be unfair to stop him from going as I think its something he actually really looks forward to and I don't think he associates it with gambling because the gambling is always something he's done online on his own and in secret. He's also handed over financial control so obviously I'll know when he's paying for golf from now on. I just worry if I take that away as well then he'll have a lot more free time on weekends and that could cause more problems... its tricky. 

Common sense and personal liability are what's needed. I take my guidance from various GA books and it says that all gambling is out, not a raffle ticket or a toss of the coin to see who goes first. The reason is it opens the door to the next bet. No first bet, no second and so on.

Trying to understand the "rules" of abstinence can be tricky when faced with various situations but the simplest that I've found is this. If there's a stake involved, like in a golf one on one game, and the winner takes the money, I wouldn't do it. I would just say that I don't gamble any more. The game can still be played.

If it's an entry fee to play, like a golf tournament (and in the case above, a fantasy football tournament) and the winner gets the prize like a trophy, that's not gambling, that's an entry fee. If the prize was a cash sum then I wouldn't do it. That sits comfortably for me. What sits comfortably for you or him?

Chris.

Posted by: Chris.UK

If it's an entry fee to play, like a golf tournament (and in the case above, a fantasy football tournament) and the winner gets the prize like a trophy, that's not gambling, that's an entry fee. If the prize was a cash sum then I wouldn't do it. That sits comfortably for me. What sits comfortably for you or him?

I agree with Chris here - entry fee for an activity is fine. Both the fantasy football and golf sound like a bit of combination for entry fee/administration fee/prize fund so a little difficult to judge, hence many on here will take the safest route and say no to anything that can be construed as gambling.

Just my opinions:

I play a bit of golf and certainly would not get involved in scenarios where everyone chucks in £x at the start of the round and the winner on the day gets the pot. Your partners golf situation seems a bit more complex and sounds a lot more like a membership fee that just happens to also fund a prize at the end. You could take the cash issue out of it and agree should he win any cash that it goes directly to a charity of your joint choice - Gamcare springs to mind:)

The fantasy football - could argue that it is an entry fee but feels a bit closer to the scenario of all chucking £x in at the start of a round of golf, albeit over a much longer period. Also, for me, football has a very close relationship with gambling as a spectator sport (rather than playing golf himself) and I wonder how much of the ongoing "banter" that will inevitably go on around something like fantasy football will revolve around other people betting? For me this would be a no just due to this.

Take care 

Muststop123

Posted by: Muststop123

Posted by: Chris.UK

If it's an entry fee to play, like a golf tournament (and in the case above, a fantasy football tournament) and the winner gets the prize like a trophy, that's not gambling, that's an entry fee. If the prize was a cash sum then I wouldn't do it. That sits comfortably for me. What sits comfortably for you or him?

I agree with Chris here - entry fee for an activity is fine. Both the fantasy football and golf sound like a bit of combination for entry fee/administration fee/prize fund so a little difficult to judge, hence many on here will take the safest route and say no to anything that can be construed as gambling.

Just my opinions:

I play a bit of golf and certainly would not get involved in scenarios where everyone chucks in £x at the start of the round and the winner on the day gets the pot. Your partners golf situation seems a bit more complex and sounds a lot more like a membership fee that just happens to also fund a prize at the end. You could take the cash issue out of it and agree should he win any cash that it goes directly to a charity of your joint choice - Gamcare springs to mind:)

The fantasy football - could argue that it is an entry fee but feels a bit closer to the scenario of all chucking £x in at the start of a round of golf, albeit over a much longer period. Also, for me, football has a very close relationship with gambling as a spectator sport (rather than playing golf himself) and I wonder how much of the ongoing "banter" that will inevitably go on around something like fantasy football will revolve around other people betting? For me this would be a no just due to this.

Take care 

Muststop123

 

I agree with this. 

Golf, a combination of that it's difficult to opt out of and with more social scrutiny. Fantasy Football for money is gambling and should be parked.