AITA for not giving my sister half of my gambling winnings?

A Redditor recounted a family cruise casino experience that took an unexpected turn. When his sister suggested betting on a roulette number, he ended up winning $175. However, a dispute arose when she demanded half of the winnings since it was her idea. He refused, believing the win was his since he risked his own money, leading to a tense atmosphere for the remainder of the trip. Read the full story below to see if you think he handled it fairly.

‘ AITA for not giving my sister half of my gambling winnings?’

I (29 M) and my sister (24 F) were on a cruise with our family. Our step siblings (who we are not close with – there’s no animosity, we just never lived together as a family and were always 1000+ miles apart) and us killed time by going to the casino. Just playing video poker. Not winning or losing too much money.

One evening, as we were leaving the casino, we were walking by the roulette table and my sister turns to me and says, “You should put money down on 19.”
I don’t know what cause her to suggest this, but I shrugged and threw $5 on 19.

And it hit! As I was being giving my $175, my sister immediately demanded half of it! She said since she gave me the idea, half of the money was rightfully hers. I refused, saying that if she wanted to win money, she should have risked her own money. After all, she wasn’t about to give me $2.50 if I lost.

This caused a HUGE fight between us, souring the rest of the trip. The rest of the family mostly stayed out of it, but it made things uncomfortable at times, which wasn’t cool particularly since we hardly see (or know) some of them.

I agree, that a nice gesture would have been to buy her a drink or something along those lines, but her immediate insistence that I give her half of the money even prevented me from doing that. So… am I the a**hole for not giving my sister anything?

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Milfiewoman −  NTA. You were the one who took the risk by placing the bet, not your sister. While it might have been nice to acknowledge her suggestion with a small gesture, her immediate demand for half the winnings was unreasonable. If she wanted to benefit from her idea, she could have placed her own bet. The money was won with your funds and your risk, so it’s rightfully yours.

Ok_Conversation9750 −  NTA. She should have put $$ down on 19 if she was so sure it would win. And like you pointed out, would she have given you $2.50 if it didn’t hit? I’m betting no.

arizonaraynebows −  When I was 20 and my brother was 21, we went to a place with gambling. He had no money so I paid for his trip AND I gave him $20 to gamble with. Being underage, I didn’t join him and the others at the casino. He came back with a mega win of $1000 from the $20 I gave him. He gave me only my $20 back.

So, while I believe you are NTA, I sympathize with your sister on the missing out of “the big win”. However, it wasn’t her win. You’re right though, a drink would have been appropriate.

regular_aussie −  All those millions…. Family should be tighter than worrying about half of $175 for the sake of baby Jesus

Whos_of_Whoville −  In principle, NTA as you made the wager.  It’s yours fair and square. In reality, ESH as this isn’t life changing amounts to worry about. Even giving $20 “finders fee” would probably have squashed any further discussion.  

Brus83 −  ESH. It’s just basic gambling etiquette to give her something.

DogStrummer −  YTA. Your sister framed the bet. It wouldn’t have happened without her. You staked the bet. It wouldn’t have happened without you.
I would hand over half the winnings (minus stake) without a second thought. Instead, you held back all of it, guaranteeing bad feeling, and wrecking a holiday. For such a small amount of money too. I just don’t get that mindset.

moonwalks_nights0P −  Maybe I’m not right. But I think she deserves something

TemptingPenguin369 −  NTA. She’s ridiculous. If she felt so strongly about putting money on 19, she should have done it herself.

Standard-Bidder −  ESH – It is standard gambling practice to offer a share of your winnings in this scenario, but not necessarily half, and if she really “immediately demanded” a share, yeah, that’s annoying.

You may logically or technically be in the right to refuse any amount, but for the low stakes here was it really worth it? Obviously not. You’re not an Ahole for this round, but you would be if you do it again.

Do you think he should have shared part of the winnings with his sister for suggesting the number, or was it fair for him to keep the full amount since he took the risk? How would you have handled the situation? Share your thoughts below!