How To Run A Big Draw 2000 Syndicate

The following text is reproduced without permission from the How To Take Part Big Draw 2000 leaflet that was made available at National Lottery retailers from Monday 1st November 1999.

Playing In A Group

Improve your chance of winning the Big Draw 2000

Playing in a group can increase the fun and excitement of playing the Big Draw 2000. Groups can be made up of friends, family or work colleagues [My note: This isn't a "rule" - you can have strangers too !]. It's a great way of playing the Big Draw 2000 and by following a few simple guidelines, playing should be easy and enjoyable.

For example, let's say you and nine friends decide to form a group, putting in £5 each. Instead of your £5 buying one set of numbers, you'll have an equal share in ten sets of numbers, giving you ten times more chances of winning a prize [My note: This is only true if all 60 years chosen are unique, otherwise it gives you ten times more chances of winning the jackpot]. So, if your group won £5 million in Game 1, your share would be £500,000. The fact that Big Draw 2000 is "two games in one" also means that you would get 10 chances at sharing a £1 million in Game 2 [My note: Rather ruining all their "guaranteed millionaire" blurb, because you'd only get £100,000 !].

Getting Started

The first thing you must do when setting up a group is to decide who's going to be in it, how much they're going to contribute to the overall ticket cost and the corresponding percentage share of any prize.

It's a good idea to appoint a manager. This person will be responsible for the running of the group, purchasing the tickets and the collection and division of the winnings.

Under National Lottery Game Rules, a prize on a winning ticket is payable to one person only - this should, we suggest, be the manager of your group. The manager should write their name and address on the back of the ticket and keep it safe. It will be that person's responsibility to share out the winnings with the other members of the group.

If there is no agreement and the winner of a prize transfers part of it to others, these gifts may attract Inheritance Tax. If the members of the group can prove that the distribution of the prize was made in accordance with a group agreement entered into before the win, no liability to UK Inheritance Tax will arise.

It is important to note that Inland Revenue law and practice may change. The comments on UK Inheritance Tax are based on our understanding of Inland Revenue practice as of May 1999.

Your Group Agreement

When you've decided who's going to be in the group and before you start to play, you should draw up a group agreement. We suggest that the agreement should include the following:

The date the agreement was drawn up.
The names of the group members.
The appointed manager's name.
How the numbers will be selected.
How much each member will pay and the corresponding percentage share of any prize.
What happens if a member fails to pay their contribution.
If the group has a big win, how the members will decide whether or not they want publicity.

[My note: See the main UK lottery's equivalent page to this for an example of a syndicate form]

Key Points To Remember

The agreement must be signed and dated by each group member and should be witnessed by, we suggest, a solicitor, doctor or someone of similar standing.
If the group changes, a new agreement should be drawn up and the old one terminated.
Copies should be given to each member and the original kept in a safe place, as the Inland Revenue may request to view it as evidence of the group agreement.

Running a Group

Collecting money from the group
A record should be kept of who'd paid what towards the overall ticket cost, so that everybody knows where they stand and a receipt issued.
Remember - it's a good idea to decide what you are going to do if one of the members of the group can't pay before the draw. Get this clear from the start, just in case the situation arises.
[My note: Interesting to see that the case where only one ticket is bought isn't mentioned anywhere. With each ticket £5 quid a go, I can see syndicate members wanting to pay just 50p or £1 towards it]
Buying your tickets
The manager will be responsible for purchasing the tickets. Your tickets should be kept safe as they will be required to claim a prize. It's important that the manager writes his/her name and address on the tickets. You may like to may a photocopy of the tickets for each group member. [My note: But the photocopy is not eligible proof when claiming the prize from Camelot of course]
Collecting your winnings
Winnings should be collected by your manager and shared out according to your group agreement.
Things to remember
The National Lottery does not encourage entries made by or on behalf of commercial and advertised syndicates and is not liable to make payment of any prize on a ticket which it knows or suspects has been resold or otherwise transferred by way of trade. There is no facility for the bulk purchase of tickets.
If you have any questions or complaints about the National Lottery, ask your National Lottery retailer or phone the National Lottery Line on 0845 9 100 000 (calls normally charged at the local rate in the UK except from mobile phones), visit the National Lottery website at "http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/" (who don't even have any transcriptions of any leaflets that Camelot produce, unlike this site...), e-mail "[email protected]" or write to:
The National Lottery,
P.O. Box 1010,
Liverpool L70 1NL
For the hard of hearing using Minicom equipment, please call 0845 9 100 045.
Each group member must be 16 years or over to play the National Lottery Games
A summary of the Player Code of Practice is on display at all National Lottery retailers.
In the event of any discrepancy between this leaflet and the Rules for On-Line Games and the National Lottery Big Draw 2000 Procedures, the current Rules and Procedures apply.
We hope these guidelines are useful. They are though given without legal liability on our part and we would advise you to consider having a solicitor prepare the form of agreement.
Please play responsibly.

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