In a conversation on Monday, President Obama said that he had made a friendly wager on a Miami Heat basketball game which cost him $800.  

When asked about the bet by a member of the media the President shrugged it off, reaffirming that it was, “just a friendly bet between friends.”

However, several Republican lawmakers have expressed outrage over the bet, including Arizona Senator John McCain and former GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

The legality of sports betting is not the issue that has the GOP up in arms.  According to Senator McCain, it sends a bad message to the poor and middle class in the country.

“The President is already gambling with our health care system and now he’s literally gambling with tax payer money,” said McCain.  “It’s an outrage. The President is not setting a good example for the country.”

Paul Ryan added, “We have mounds of debt, the country is on a path to bankruptcy, the Republican Party is worried about saving this country while the President is throwing money away.”