Review of 'PlayLotto'

PlayLotto let you pick from a number of lotteries, from the German Lottery to the French Lotto. You can change between the 8 countries national lotteries from one week to the next.

It's an unusual feature, which means you could follow big rollover jackpots. If PlayLotto did this automatically it would be much more useful though.

So How Does It Work?

The number of players per group depends on the lottery being played. Choose the German lottery and you play in a group of 23, which is a little small. Play the French lotto and this shrinks to 16. But choose Sweden and it falls to just 7!

Syndicates are about balancing cost, chances of winning and the number of players to split winnings between. The UK lottery option does look more balanced at 46 members per group.

Winnings are equally split between everyone in the group, and there appears to be no charge to withdraw money from your account.

Poor Value For Money

The site looks nice, and it all sounds good, but unfortunately PlayLotto is just plain poor value for money.

The cost is 7 Euros per week, which seems reasonable. Until you work out what you get for that. Every syndicate is a balance of number of players versus tickets bought. And syndicates are either run by keen amateurs giving up their time, or by professional companies.

But 'having costs' is no excuse to 'price gouge' customers by charging double that of a typical well run professional syndicate. That means you can get DOUBLE the chance of winning for the same price! And ultimately that's all the matters.

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On value alone, PlayLotto rates low. But our contact with PlayLotto has done nothing to reassure. Further information was never quite as detailed as the question asked.

It Just Doesn't Add Up...

I also had major concerns in one other area. Members can actually earn money by introducing friends - nothing wrong with that (except the rather big registration fee!). But part of the commission plan involves paying a percentage of winnings to the introducing member. PlayLotto claimed this is paid by them, not from winnings.

But taking a typical German lottery jackpot, around €5 Million, PlayLotto could have to pay out €65,000. Potentially for 23 people in that group. That's €1.5 Million. I say potentially because it depends who introduced who, but PlayLotto just seemed unaware how much this could cost.

It is doubtful they have the funds put aside for this. When pressed on the subject they then claimed they had insurance that would pay this. I pressed further, and am still waiting for the reply..!

Conclusion

Due to the cost alone we cannot recommend PlayLotto. Unless you particularly want to play the German lottery or the French lotto, but even then I would be nervous based on my contact with them. There is much better value to be had elsewhere, with a much cosier reassurance that they've actually done the numbers and know how things work.

Similar Lottery Syndicates:-

Big Fat Lotteries - pro syndicate with 10 years of experience behind it and lots of popular games to choose from.
You Play We Play - a smaller but still professional company who offer the novel option of pay as you go play.
Love My Lotto - play lots of different games instead of just one with this 'package' approach to play.
Tips 4 Winning - a semi-pro choice but with some pretty good features on offer.

Syndicate Options For Players In The USA:-

Powerball Syndicate - if you like the big prize games try this instead.
Florida Lotto Magic Review - play Florida Lotto with an option for Powerball too.
WinTrillions Irish Lotto Syndicate - nice option for those wanting to play the Irish lottery online.