There are plenty of people out there vying for a piece of the prize pool. To some, lottery syndicates seem to be the winning answer.
But, let us tell you this: a lottery syndicate is not nearly as easy as it sounds.
For the average Powerball player, buying multiple tickets is almost impossible. But, as part of a syndicate, you can buy multiple lottery tickets to increase your chances of winning the main jackpot.
With a syndicate, 10 or more people usually get together to buy tickets – which may sound just like all your dreams come true. But, tread carefully!
Not everything is peaches and cream when it comes to lottery syndicates. Ever heard the story of the group of beauty therapists who got together to form a syndicate? The group quickly fell apart when they accused one of the members of robbing their fortune worth a jaw-dropping $9 million.
Now that we’ve piqued your interest, here are 5 problems with sharing your ticket with a group of other people, even for the upcoming $620 million Powerball draw.
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The Decision-Making Progress Can Get Nasty Quickly
Since there are a group of people in a syndicate, the decision-making process isn’t going to be smooth sailing. The more people involved, the more opinions there are about how to play, where to buy tickets, what numbers to pick and so on.
If you’re not a fan of working with others, don’t join a syndicate. Everyone wants to win the grand prize, but with so many different opinions, it can lead to a ton of unnecessary stress and tension between everyone involved.
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Stand United, Divide the Fortune
One of the biggest issues with sharing a ticket with others is that everyone wants a big share of the pool (read the beauty therapist story above again!).
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Greed Shines Through
Following on from the second point, stories have been found of greedy syndicate members who don’t want to share the prize. It’s a massive problem ifyou’ve informally set up a syndicate. If this is the case, it will be up to each member to prove legally that they have been played by the dubious member.
There have even been cases where a syndicate member lost their share of the prize due to non-payment or late payment of their syndicate fee. In most cases, these problems land up going the legal, stressful and totally not worth it route.
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Tax Issues
Another issue with lottery syndicates arises when no formal agreement is in place and inheritance tax issues arise. If the head of your syndicate collects the prize and “gifts” each member an equal share, the tax may become a consideration for each one of you.
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You’re Not Going to Come Out on Top
While it may seem counter-intuitive, playing in a syndicate means you’re less likely to come out on top on any draw.
Over the long run, yes, your odds remain the same. That’s because the odds are the same no matter which way you choose to play. Yet, on any given draw, you’re not likely to win the jackpot.
In the meantime, those Division Six and Seven smaller prizes usually only cover a part of the cost of the syndicate purchasing tickets. So, rather than a win worth writing home about, you end up with a small loss.
Sharing your ticket with others takes a great deal of variance out of your game, too. You’re certainly a little more likely to win a share of the prize, but mostly, you’re going to lose out.
There Are Happy Endings – They’re Just Few and Far Between
Okay, we don’t want to be all lottery doom and gloom, so how about a happy story about the syndicate who dubbed themselves “Oceans 16?” The group were made up of sixteen colleagues from the Ocean County Department of Vehicle Services in New Jersey.
The syndicate bought a bunch of Powerball tickets and won a piece of the $448 million jackpot in the August 7, 2013 draw. For the draw, there were three winning tickets, one of which belonged to Oceans 16 and which saw them take $149 million home. The syndicate chose the lump sum option, which amounted to $86 million, which means $3.8 million went to each member after taxes.
The members had been affected by super-storm Sandy the previous year. In a show of solidarity, they hired a bus to take them to the lottery offices to pick up their prize and ensure each member received their fair and equal share.
Think Before You Share
Being part of a lottery syndicate isn’t without its problems. There are numbers to pick, prizes to collect and tickets to buy. And then, results to check and winnings to fairly distribute.
It’s hard work, and it’s often unfair. If you don’t love the sound of a syndicate, stick to purchasing your own tickets and crossing your fingers!