Sunday, the NCAA announces seedings for this year's college basketball tournament. And Monday, workers in offices nationwide will be burning up the copy machines, duplicating the tournament ladders for the players in their NCAA pools.

        Why should employers fight it? Cincinnati computer consultants Digital Bang thinks that employers ought to join it.

Ed Estes is CEO of Digital Bang, developer of “Hoops Frenzy” software that helps manage gambling pools. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        Digital Bang's “Hoops Frenzy” software helps manage pools online. Players can choose a nickname and password, and make their choices online. Employers get a unique Web address for the pool's main page, and can set the rules of the game.

        Digital Bang, a programming and Web site building company whose clients include Skyline Chili and Coney Island, is selling the game as a way for companies to reward employees or customers. About a half-dozen companies have already signed up to use it, CEO Ed Estes said.

        Companies can use the game to reward employees, he said. Hoops Frenzy allows companies to ask up to five questions, helping companies collect data and build customer lists.

        Running a pool is one way to make the office a fun place to work, said Matt Weinstein, a consultant on company team building and author of the book Work Like Your Dog.

        “I've seen offices have successful pools on what time the UPS guy comes, or how many slides the boss will put in his Powerpoint presentation,” he said. “I really do believe any kind of break, any kind of fun, gives people a chance to recharge their batteries.”

        The company has been in this business for two years, with its software working behind the scenes of the online NCAA pool at Cincinnati.com, the joint Web site of the Enquirer and the Post.

        The Enquirer's parent, Gannett Co. Inc., has contracted with Digital Bang and will offer the Hoops Frenzy service to many of its 99 daily newspapers. That contract will be worth up to $60,000 for Digital Bang, depending on how many papers use the software, Mr. Estes said.

        Digital Bang's forte is building Web sites for companies that do not employ programmers. The sites use forms that prompt users for information that updates the site, so users don't need to know HTML or other Internet-related programming languages to maintain their Web sites.

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