A lottery syndicate is one of the best ways to play the lottery. A quarter of all lottery jackpots are won by syndicates. These are often formed by a group of workmates or friends who club together to increase their odds of winning. This lets the syndicate members have more entries (the only way to genuinely increase your chances of winning) whilst still controlling the cost.

However, whilst being a member of a lottery syndicate is a good way to play, lottery syndicates are not without some drawbacks.

The first, and probably the most obvious, problem is that, if you are lucky enough to win the jackpot, then you will have to share all that lovely prize money with the other syndicate members. Depending upon the size of the win and the number of members in your syndicate this may not be a problem for you. However, in some cases, it could mean that a potentially life changing win ends up getting you a new car instead of allowing you to quit work and travel the world.

The second problem may be that your fellow syndicate members don't recognise the first problem. The newspapers are full of stories regarding the legal battles which ensue when one lottery member claims the money for him or herself. And it needn't take out and out dishonesty for a successful lottery syndicate to end up in court.

There have been cases where a syndicate member has lost their share of the prize money due to non or late payment of their share of the entry fee. These cases often wind up with legal action being launched.

There may also be problems with tax if no formal agreement is in place. If one member, usually the organiser, claims the win and then "gifts" shares of this to other syndicate members then, in some countries, inheritance tax may be a consideration.

There are guidelines on how to protect yourself legally whilst playing in a lottery syndicate. These can be downloaded from various websites including Camelot's.

Following the guidelines may protect you financially and legally, but they won't help with some of the other problems which can arise when you're in a lottery syndicate. Just collecting the entry money and getting the tickets each week can be a real pain with a large syndicate. There's also the potential for tickets to get lost. Of course, this can happen if you play alone but when it's a winning syndicate ticket that goes missing, tempers can flare and suspicions can be aroused. In extreme cases legal action may ensue.