Syndicates

There's strength in numbers

More players, more chances, more special moments

Playing National Lottery games with a syndicate is a great way to share the thrill of playing the nation’s favourite games. There’s something very special about celebrating a win with friends, family or work colleagues.

Ready to play? Choose a game for your syndicate:

  • Lotto
  • EuroMillions
  • Set For Life
  • Thunderball
  • Lotto HotPicks
  • EuroMillions HotPicks

Build your dream team

Playing as a group can be a lot more fun than playing alone and celebrating a win with others can be so much more rewarding – especially when it’s a big jackpot! But first things first – get some friends, family or work colleagues together and get the ball rolling.

Top tips for building your team

  • Recruit your dream team – syndicates can be made up of friends, family or even work colleagues. In fact, two thirds of current syndicates are work based*, with syndicate managers starting them up to inject some fun and social interaction into the workplace.
  • Agree how it will work – there are no set ways of how to play within a syndicate but agreeing guidelines upfront will provide peace of mind for your team.
  • Stay connected – social media is a great way to keep in touch with your team in between draws. You can send your syndicate team payment reminders, confirmation of draw entries and of course those exciting win alerts!

*Syndicates research 2017.

Agree how the syndicate will work

Before you play, get organised

Setting up a syndicate agreement from the very start will provide ease and peace of mind for both the syndicate manager and the other members. As all payments are taken from, and all prizes are paid only to, the syndicate manager, it is important that everyone knows and are in agreement with how regularly payments are paid and how the prizes will be distributed to the syndicate members.

Here are a few things to consider before starting your syndicate:

  • Agree who the manager is
  • Which games, draws, how many lines will be played?
  • How and when will payments be made?
  • What happens if someone misses a payment?
  • How and when will prizes be shared – or will they be reinvested?
  • Will the group want publicity in the event of a big win?
  • How will the group communicate a large win – and to who?

You may want to use our sample syndicate agreement as a starting point.

Registering with The National Lottery

If you're planning on playing online, the syndicate manager will need to register online and list themselves as the syndicate manager. If the syndicate manager already has a National Lottery account, they should use their existing account to play the syndicate's lines. They can update their status to syndicate manager within their account settings. Only one account per player is permitted, so if you have an account, you should not set up a new account for syndicate play.

Set up an account

Your syndicate agreement

Get everyone to sign a syndicate agreement and make sure everyone has a copy. If you win, it will make life a whole lot easier.

Download Syndicate agreement

TOP TIP Take a photo of your completed syndicate agreement and share it with the members only via social media or messaging app.

Start playing and having fun!

Ready to play? Choose your games

Your syndicate can play any National Lottery draw-based game – in other words:

  • Lotto
  • EuroMillions
  • Set For Life
  • Thunderball
  • Lotto HotPicks
  • EuroMillions HotPicks

The syndicate will not be limited to one game, giving you even more chances to win.

Ways to play

In-store – for those syndicate managers that prefer to have their pink tickets physically in their hands, playing a syndicate in-store is a great option. Syndicates can be played in any retail store that sells The National Lottery, the syndicate manager just needs to fill in a playslip(s) for the games and number of weeks the team wants to play. The retailer will then provide the syndicate manager with a printed pink ticket for the selected draws.

TOP TIP FOR RETAIL Most syndicate managers that play in stores love FastPay cards, particularly if the syndicate plays the same numbers week in, week out. FastPay cards store your lucky numbers and for multiple lines meaning your syndicate manager won’t need to fill in a playslip (or numerous playslips) every time they go to purchase the tickets.

Online – syndicate managers that prefer to keep things digital can opt to purchase the syndicate’s games online. The manager will need to set up or use their own personal National Lottery account and register themselves as a syndicate manager. Playing online means that your syndicate will never have the worry of losing a ticket, your syndicate manager will be contacted by e-mail if you’ve had any wins. It is then the syndicate manager’s responsibility to distribute any winnings amongst the syndicate members.

Set up an account

TOP TIP FOR ONLINE For syndicates that play the same number of lines and the same lucky numbers week in week out, setting up a direct debit (subscription) can be a great way of ensuring you never miss a draw. Find out more on playing by direct debit.

Tips on payments

To ensure you receive regular payments from all members in your syndicate, why not agree a regular day on which payments are made? If all payments from the syndicate group are not received on time it can be frustrating for the team and cause disruption to the flow of play.

Sharing your winnings!

The fun part – claiming your prize

It’s important to remember that prizes are paid to the syndicate manager and not to the syndicate group members individually. The manager then shares the winnings with the rest of the syndicate or reinvests the wins into future play – it's all dependent on what is stated in your syndicate agreement. Whether you have bought your tickets in retail or online, click here to find out how to claim your prize.

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