If you are a fan of the various lotteries around the globe, chances are that you have at least heard of some lottery syndicates but are unclear about exactly what they are and how they work.
If so, read on!
What is a Lottery Syndicate?
Simply put, minus any legalese or technical jargon, a lottery syndicate is a group of players who share the cost of lottery tickets in order to play more games and thus increase their chances of winning. After all, it stands to reason that the more games you play, the greater your chances of winning. In a way, it's much like Bingo: the more cards you have, the more likely you are to win. If a lottery syndicate wins, the prize is shared equally among the members of the syndicate.
For all intents and purposes, a lottery syndicate and a lottery pool are basically the same in that each has a group of members who pool their money to buy lottery tickets and then share any subsequent winnings equally.
Although there may be any number of participants in a lottery syndicate or lottery pool, one of the most common is a workplace pool.
Winning Workplace Pools
If you are skeptical about whether or not workplace lottery pools are worthwhile, check out some of these winners:
• September 28th, 2007---A group of 22 coworkers with a long standing lottery pool from Kentucky hit the jackpot prize for a Powerball drawing worth $61.5 million. These pool members each contributed $1 a week to buy lottery tickets and it paid off big time!
• March 30th, 2011---Seven workplace lottery pool members from Albany, New York hit the Mega Millions jackpot to the tune of a whopping $319 million. This pool, who called themselves “The Albany Twelve” were a group of twelve workers who formed the lottery pool and regularly played. For this particular drawing, five pool members declined to chip in $2 apiece to participate and share in the winnings. Ouch!
• April 25th, 2012---A lottery pool consisting of 48 coworkers from Pennsylvania were the lucky winners of a $172.7 million Powerball jackpot. Pool members will share the $172.7 million if they choose the 30-year annuity, or a “trifling” $107.5 million if they opt to take their winnings in a lump sum.
These are only three of the many lottery syndicate or lottery pool winnings, there have certainly been plenty more. Being a member of a syndicate or pool helps to increase your chances of winning because you have more tickets and more chances to win.
Want to Start a Lottery Pool or Lottery Syndicate?
Starting a lottery pool might be a great idea, but you need to do some spadework before getting started. Here are some helpful tips about the ins and outs of starting a lottery pool or lottery syndicate:
• If you are thinking of starting a lottery pool to make a profit, check the existing laws in your country beforehand. In some countries, profiting from a lottery pool/lottery syndicate is illegal. Better to be safe than sorry.
• Get organized and stay that way. Even if your pool consists of only a handful of coworkers, friends or relatives---have a good system of keeping up with members, amount each has paid every week, what numbers are being played and possibly even which member chose them. In addition, be sure to log every win. A basic Excel or Open Office spreadsheet will suffice for your needs and keep things from becoming a tangled mess that could create big problems in the event of a big win.
• Get it in writing! No matter how close you may be to your lottery pool members, always get a signed agreement that lays out the terms of the syndicate or pool clearly. The last thing you want if your pool holds the winning ticket to a humongous lottery jackpot is to have to pony up a share to Jack, who hasn't paid into it in two months.
Want to Join a Lottery Pool or Syndicate?
If you don't want to start a lottery pool and don't know anyone who has one you could join, your best bet would be to join a lottery syndicate. If you do a Google search for “Lottery Syndicate” you will have no difficulty in finding one or more to join in almost every civilized country in the world. Nowadays, with the World Wide Web, there are e-lottery syndicates available for you to join with a few clicks of your mouse!
A lottery pool or lottery syndicate is a wonderful way to increase your chances of winning a lottery jackpot by allowing you to buy more tickets and play more games as part of a group.