Last night I just finished by draft for my Fantasy baseball team from which I taken a year hiatus. Earlier in the week, I had a NCAA draft. In the fall I have fantasy football. I’m not even a huge sports fan. Yet, I spent quite a bit of money each year, and countless hours each year on the pursuit of victory. My guess is that I “spend” about $300 on year on fantasy sports. Of course since what I’m really doing is very akin to gambling if not outright gambling in itself, I actually end up recouping some of what I spend. For me that’s probably $20 bucks if I have a good year.

Is It Legal?

If it’s not I shouldn’t really be admitting in public that I’m basically gambling, but from what I’ve gathered it’s mostly legal. The New York Times featured a , and on the most part office pools and pools amongst a few friends should be legal. The basic takeaway from the article is to keep it small and local. Fantasy sports is a class activity on into itself. It’s not gambling in the classic sense of the word. It’s not a game of luck, or at least that’s the interpretation of congress. Apparently, Fantasy Sports is a game of skill, and not illegal gambling.

Is It Worth It?
Beyond the legal ramifications of my fantasy sports, friendly tournameant pools, I still have to ask myself if participating worth it? Brackets are easy enough and don’t take much time, but fantasy sports do a take quite a bit of time. Obviously I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it, but I also know I wouldn’t do it with much gusto if there wasn’t money on the line. In this respect, fantasy sports is very much like gambling for me. Would I ever play blackjack to kill a few hours just for fun? I don’t think so, and in the same vein I wouldn’t spend a hour a week to look at what bench players are getting more at bats. Clearly the payoff is one of the reasons I participate.