Should I Join A Lottery Syndicate?

It is a simple fact that a lotto syndicate is quite simply the wisest way to play a part in any lotto if you are looking for a way to increase your odds of winning some serious lottery cash. In fact, more than one quarter of all lotto jackpot wins are secured by lotto syndicates. These lotto syndicates are more often than not put together by groups of work colleagues or friends who have the single aim of improving their chances of winning the lottery. Playing together in this way gives each member of the syndicate more chances of winning but at the same time ensuring that expenditure is kept to an affordable level.

Being a syndicate member can come with a significant odds advantage more than ever if the syndicate has a greater quantity of people participating. Conversely, being a syndicate member also has its negative points.

The first and probably the most evident negative side of a syndicate is the fact that all winnings are split between all members of the syndicate equally. For that reason, the larger quantity of syndicate members there are, the less cash each of these members will collect. As a result, a sizable lottery syndicate triumph may only create a sufficient amount of prize money for each member to pay for a holiday or a new computer; but definitely not sufficient to give up the day job and acquire a Pacific island! If each syndicate member is aware of this potential outcome then everybody should be happy.

The second catch with lottery syndicates directly relates to the point made above. Stories can sometimes be seen in the press about a selfish syndicate member(s) who is reluctant to distribute the prize money to colleagues and instead tries to keep it. This can certainly be a big issue if the syndicate has been put together without due care and attention. If this is the situation, each of the aggrieved members has then got to prove in legal terms that they have been conned. There have also been cases where a syndicate member has lost their portion of a syndicate win owing to late or non payment of their syndicate fee. Such cases often lead to legal action being sought.

The third snag that may happen if no proper syndicate agreement has been formulated is that of inheritance tax issues. If the head of the syndicate collects the payout and then "gifts" each member their equal share, then this tax could become an issue for all the syndicate members.

There are ways in which such problems can be scaled down therefore simplifying the whole process. If the syndicate is formed using a lottery syndicate contract then any of the issues emphasized here will no longer be an issue. These syndicate contracts can be downloaded from your lottery provider's website and in many cases can be collected from your lottery retailer.

There is no real argument that the benefits of joining a lottery syndicate easily outweigh any negative issues that may be involved. If the syndicate is registered in the correct and legal way as suggested, the only things you actually have to lose sleep about are paying your syndicate entry fee each week and deciding what you will do with the funds when your lotto syndicate secures the ultimate prize.