Adam Watanbee STAFF WRITER

The annual tradition of March Madness made its grand entrance onto the American stage, winning a place on our televisions and in our free time. Besides watching the last second shots, and seeing America’s sweet hearts succeed, the tournament has adopted another theme: gambling.

The FBI states that roughly 2.5 billion U.S dollars are gambled illegally. The
Vegas statistics show that 80 million dollars are bet in the Sin City every year on March Madness alone. To add to this the New Jersey State Council on Compulsive Gambling has estimated that 1.3 billion is gambled online during the tourney. Yes, Americans have issues with this “thrill.”

The most common form of betting to use on the tournament is a pool. It is a group of people who all fill out their own brackets (team lists) and bet on who will win during each round. Each person contributes some form of a reward whether it is candy or cash. The incentives grow as a person’s bracket has more success. Round by round, some may watch their teams drop like flies. A classic is to see the weaker teams upset the powerful and well known teams.

Although betting money is prevalent in a major sporting event, teens have contrived another way to still luck out. It is candy. For teens who, for obvious reasons lack cash, sugar is another way to enjoy themselves. It is in abundance and costs little money. A survey among Bingham students revealed that candy was used more than cash.

This being said, the U.S. government has issues with money being used as well. It is a colossal waste of money for those who lose. In Utah, the law is no different. The Utah Constitution defines gambling as “risking anything of value for a return or risking anything value upon the outcome of the contest.” Anyone found guilty of this could face punishments such as prison. Rest assured, this does not include candy, which is of little value. Anything well into the hundreds or thousands of dollars may infringe Utah law, but a buck here or there won’t hurt anyone.

The motive of participants in pools fluctuates. There are the occasional “win big or lose big” types of bettors, for others a sweet tooth is enough to motivate them. For some such as Andy Holmes, a sophomore here at Bingham, it was the “bragging rights.” The journey of the tournament may be the most enticing, taking part in the highs and the lows of the sports world. Of all the reasons, witnessing sports history unfold in the clashes between the best teams is the most tempting.