These people are a bad bet, sir (6)
I believe the answer is:
tribes
'these people' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.
'a bad bet sir' is the wordplay.
'a bad' indicates an anagram.
'bet'+'sir'='betsir'
'betsir' is an anagram of 'TRIBES'.
'are' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tribes that I've seen before include "Social groups in traditional societies" , "Communities of primitive or nomadic groups" , "Groups of people related by blood" , "races" , "Groups of families in traditional societies" .)