Huge jackpots are perfect for sharing with friends or co-workers, and syndicates offer a cost-effective way to play more lines in any given draw.
The more lines you play, the more chances you have to win. Syndicate play is a simple way to play more lines without excessive cost.
As is playing a lottery where the tickets are cheaper in the first place. The Health Lottery’s main draw, known as The Big Win (as well as its QuickWin and newer All or Nothing games) costs just one pound per line…
Of all the strategies employed to help with winning the lottery - whether playing lucky numbers, birthdays, to sticking to the same safe numbers every week, a lottery syndicate is perhaps the most effective -- and the most fun.
More tickets could give you the best chance of a lottery win
The idea behind forming a syndicate is that the more tickets purchased, the greater the overall chance of winning a prize.
The members of the syndicate chip in, spreading the cost of buying multiple tickets, with the agreement that any winnings will be shared.
Syndicates involve regular people - co-workers, family groups, or some friends - getting together once a week to pool their money to buy lottery tickets.
Crucially, everyone is in it to win it, looking for the best chance of a lottery jackpot win.
It is important to understand, however, that more lines means more chances to win, but at the same odds.
If you’re interested in being part of a syndicate, you have two options: forming your own, or joining an existing one.
You may find that your workplace already has an established syndicate that you can easily join by agreeing to a weekly or monthly contribution.
If you are thinking about starting a syndicate, these are the basic steps to forming one:
- Gather a group of lottery-loving friends or colleagues (remember, age restrictions apply).
- Appoint an administrator, someone you know and trust, who will be in charge of collecting. money, buying tickets, and otherwise keeping things running.
- Decide how much each person is required to pay whether it is weekly or monthly.
- Decide how winnings will be collected and divided.
- Cross your respective fingers and hope to win!
The administrator should draw up a written agreement clearly stating the rules, including how to pick lottery numbers and which game(s) the syndicate will purchase tickets for.
A strong recommendation is that someone in authority, such as a solicitor, witnesses the agreement, and that all members of the syndicate sign it.
In order to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts, a syndicate agreement should include:
- Which numbers to play.
- How to handle missed payments.
- Members leaving or joining the syndicate.
- How to deal with publicity.
- How to deal with smaller wins.
The administrator should be sure to keep the agreement up to date, keep a copy in a safe place, and provide copies to any new members of the group as they join.
Of course, it’s not all about rules and administration. You can make your syndicate more personal by giving it a name.
Some winning syndicate names include “The Three Amigos” and “The Jolly Luckies” - have some fun with a name that brings the group together so that it feels like a team or club.
More players should mean you can pick the numbers to play more easily (although it could mean more debate!). Of course, the syndicate can always play more lines, so everybody can get a say...
If, for any reason, you can't decide on the numbers to play you can always go for a Quick Pick which will use exactly the same Random Number Generator technology that makes the actual draw to pick for you.
Alternatively, there are no shortage of scientific and superstitious methods you can turn to...
Lottery syndicates that have won big
Let us look at some exciting syndicate winning draws.
In 2005, a small town in Yorkshire was the site of some celebration when eleven Tesco employees won over £18 million on the National Lottery. Nine players claimed a cool £1.4 million while the remaining two players each took £2.8 million home.
The administrator of this lucky syndicate had the tedious job of checking 13 lines of numbers each week.
You can imagine the shock when one line showed up as the jackpot winning combination.
This syndicate highlighted the importance of the requirement of a written agreement, as the winning cheque, according to the rules of play, was payable only to one person — the administrator.
Lucky for the rest of the syndicate the winnings cleared and allocated, and everyone was a millionaire within a week!
The year 2014 saw an even bigger syndicate win, when twelve bus drivers won a whopping £38 million jackpot on the EuroMillions.
Choosing a lottery for your syndicate to play
When it comes to choosing the best lottery to play, consider society lotteries such as The Health Lottery. We are fully committed to fundraising and supporting vital community projects in your area, which makes it a popular choice for syndicates.
For example, lady luck smiled down on a syndicate in Peterborough with a £10,000 win.
The group of co-workers each took home a lovely bonus of £1,250 as a reward for their contributions.
Syndicates winning ten grand from us is a bit of a theme - lucky groups in York and a group of co-workers from B&Q also dit it themselves!
We've also had some bigger syndicate wins - notably the lovely ladies from Leeds who shared a massive £475,000!
And we were absolutely delighted when a syndicate of frontline NHS workers from a hospital in Halifax won a £100,000 jackpot!
To help you on your road to a successful syndicate, The Health Lottery also has a dedicated syndicate information page to ensure a good start for aspiring syndicates.
More play means more winners
One consequence of playing The Health Lottery in a syndicate is that with more lines played, more money is raised for good causes operating locally all over Britain.
It doesn't matter if you play The Big Win or All or Nothing (our lottery draw games that you can play as a syndicate) you're doing more good!
