Create a Lottery Syndicate

Creating your own syndicate is a fun way to give yourself a better chance of winning, as you can share the cost of playing and celebrate big wins with other players. Learn more about how to set up a lottery syndicate and what you need to know if you are going to be a syndicate manager.

Whether you link up with work colleagues, neighbours, friends or family members, you should have a few rules in place to make sure that everything runs smoothly. A good way to do this is to have a lottery syndicate agreement in place.

Lottery Syndicate Form

Even if your syndicate is made up entirely of people you know well, disputes can arise if rules aren’t clearly outlined. Everyone should be fully aware of what is expected of them. It is up to you what you want to include in your syndicate agreement, but it should mention the following points:

• A list of all the players’ names, together with contact details.
• The date the syndicate began.
• Confirmation of which game you are playing (Lotto, EuroMillions, etc.), and which draws you will be entering (e.g. a Lotto syndicate may decide to play on Wednesday and Saturday, or on just one day).
• Confirmation of how many entries the syndicate will play in each draw.
• The cost of each player’s stake and when they are due to pay for their share of tickets.
• The share of any prize that each player will be entitled to.
• An agreement on what will happen if a player does not pay on time or leaves the syndicate.
• An agreement on how the syndicate would decide whether to go public or stay anonymous in the event of a big win.
• A signed agreement from the syndicate manager that they promise to distribute winnings to all syndicate members.

Every player should make sure they read the lottery syndicate form carefully and then sign it to confirm they agree with all the conditions. You could also have an independent witness sign the agreement. By having a signed document, the whole process should be much more straightforward. It can be used to settle any disagreements that may occur at any stage.

A syndicate agreement also ensures that winnings remain tax-free when they are distributed between members of the group. If you land a major prize, there are tax implications if you give anyone a portion of your winnings as a gift, but a syndicate agreement proves that you have played as a group and specifies who is entitled to a share.

Download a syndicate agreement

This agreement is for informational purposes only. Anyone wishing to establish their own lottery syndicate should seek independent legal advice. The clauses in this agreement are suggestions only and National-Lottery.com accepts no responsibility for errors and omissions or for any loss or claim arising out of the use of this draft agreement, whether in whole or in part.

Syndicate Manager

Your syndicate can have as many members as you like, but it is always good to have one person who takes overall responsibility. This will be the designated syndicate manager. National Lottery rules in the UK dictate that a winning ticket can only be claimed by one person, so this responsibility would typically fall to the syndicate manager.

If you act as the syndicate manager, you will have to be ready to accept a few key responsibilities. These include:

• Making sure that each player pays for their tickets
• Buying tickets and keeping them safe (online tickets are automatically secure)
• Checking tickets to see if the syndicate is due a prize (numbers played online will be checked automatically)
• Collecting any winnings and sharing them out between players as agreed.
• Looking after the syndicate agreement, making sure it is up to date and that it has been signed by all members.

You might also want to appoint a second member of the syndicate to assist the manager; for example, they could double-check the tickets after each draw.