When you think about it, setting up a lottery syndicate makes a lot of sense. It is the most sensible way to play the lottery.
Yes you will have to share your jackpot with others if you do win, but at least it increases your chances of winning in the first place.
So what exactly is a lottery syndicate I hear you ask? And I did hear you ask!
Well put simply, it is playing the lottery as a group instead of as an individual. Let’s say you and nine of your friends, (aren’t you the popular one?), decide to start a syndicate, buying one ticket each at £1. As the syndicate, instead of your £1 buying one ticket, you’ll have an equal share in ten tickets, giving you ten times more chances of winning the jackpot. So if your syndicate was to win a jackpot of £5,000,000, your share would be £500,000.
Now obviously £500,000 is not quite as lucrative as £5,000,000 but I think we can agree it’s still a tidy little sum for an investment of £1. I am not sure of the figures off the top of my head but I think more lottery jackpots have been won by syndicates than by individual players.
Possible Pitfalls
Now I’m sure it’s not hard to see the potential pitfalls with running a lottery syndicate. Namely organizing the collection of funds, buying the tickets, etc. Also, what happens if one participant forgets to pay for their ticket during the week that the syndicate just happens to win the jackpot? Do you still share the winnings with them? I think you should but that is your call.
In any case, to avoid things like this happening, you should definitely have an agreement in place for everyone’s protection. It is also essential that there is a manager for the syndicate who will be responsible for running the syndicate, purchasing the tickets, and the collection and distribution of winnings.
Once you have decided who’s going to be in the syndicate, how much each individual will be required to pay, and the corresponding percentage of the prize, you should draw up a lottery syndicate agreement.
There are no real hard and fast rules when it comes to what to include in the agreement, you can just use your common sense here to put it together but here are some suggestions as to what to include;
– The date the agreement was created.
– The appointed manager’s name.
– The names of the group members.
– The appointed manager’s name.
– How the numbers will be selected for each draw. Will members select their own numbers or will they be generated randomly?
– How much each member will pay for their tickets and the corresponding percentage share of any winnings.
– What happens if a member fails to pay their contribution at any time
– Should the syndicate happen to win the jackpot, are the members happy for publicity
We are potentially talking about a lot of money here so the agreement is something that should be taken seriously. Each member should sign and date the agreement and it should also be witnessed by someone of a professional standing, likea solicitor. Each member should get a copy of the agreement and the original should be kept with the independent witness as of course the Inland Revenue will probably want to see it if there is a big jackpot prize to be distributed.
One more thing to note of course is that each member of the lottery syndicate must be of the legal age for taking part in the lottery.
I think I should leave a little disclaimer to say of course these guidelines are not endorsed by any authority other than my own so of course use with caution but I do wish you all the best if you do decide to set up a syndicate and if you should happen to win remember to buy your mom some flowers ☺
If you want to set up your own syndicate, there’s a great site you can use called Syndicate Tool.
Or you can join an existing Lottery Syndicate. Here are some options to explore;