Need a Lottery Syndicate Agreement..?
If you run a syndicate, you need a lottery syndicate agreement. Otherwise you leave yourself open to all sorts of problems.
At the very least your syndicate contract will make sure all your members understand what is expected of them, and what they can expect from you.
That way there will be no nasty surprises. And by nasty surprises I mean one of your members taking you to court to claim winnings you say they are not entitled to, or the tax people trying to demand big chunks of your winnings!
OK, so in short you do need a syndicate agreement...
Lottery Syndicate Agreement Wording
There are some basic and fairly obvious details your contract should include, i.e.
- Syndicate managers name
- Which lottery you are playing
- What draws you will enter
- Names of all the players
- Date of the agreement
- How much each player is paying
- How the winnings are to be split
What Else To Cover
But there are also some less obvious things to include which you may not have thought about.
Are the numbers randomly selected each draw, or does each player provide a set of numbers (and can they change them). Who is responsible for buying tickets (you?) and is anyone nominated as a back-up in case you are ill or on holiday.
Do you expect payments to be made by a particular cut off date. If someone fails to meet that date are they not included in the draw, or is there a grace period. Do you want payments monthly, or weekly.
How are your winnings paid out, do you wait until a certain value is reached, or at regular intervals. What happens to accumulated winnings when someone leaves or someone new joins. In case of a big win do you want publicity or not.
You don't have to cover all of these points, but the more you cover, the stronger your position as syndicate manager. People may not read all of the terms, but at least you can refer them to the terms of your agreement in case of any dispute.
Keep The Agreement Updated
Finally, your agreement should be signed and dated by all members, and the syndicate manager (who may or may not be a player!), and ideally witnessed by an independent party. The original should be securely stored and copies given to all members.
The tricky part comes when a new member joins or an old one leaves. It's a real pain in the neck to have to amend and reprint the contract every time.
But if you want to keep yourself covered, you need to have that lottery syndicate agreement in place, and keep it updated.
More Syndicate Help?
Running a syndicate can be hard work - and often thankless. After all, it's your fault when the group doesn't win ;-).
For more tips on making your life as a syndicate manager easier, read Running Your Own Syndicate. It should help you keep things fun. Good luck.
