How To Organize A Lottery Pool

The recent $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot won by anonymous individual has caused a wave of lottery hysteria across the US.

As is often the case, someone winning alife-changing amount of money has inspired others to think about how they canimprove their own chances of hitting the jackpot.

Unfortunately, the chances of winningthe lottery are miniscule, and the only way to improve them is to buy moretickets. 

Of course, spending vast sums of moneyon lottery tickets is neither a wise idea nor a sensible investment given theextremely long odds of winning. 

Fortunately, lottery pools offer peoplean alternate means of accessing more tickets without them having to spend extramoney.

This might sound too good to be true.However, lottery pools are a legal and legitimate means of competing in thelottery.

The process of organizing and running alottery pool is by no means easy or risk-free.

That’s why we’ve decided to puttogether this handy guide to explain how lottery pools work, the advantages ofdoing one, and the risks they pose.

What Is A Lottery Pool?                   

A lottery pool is a group of people whoput money together to buy lottery tickets and agree to split the prize if oneof the tickets wins.

As mentioned, lotteries are games ofchance where the only way to increase the probability of winning is by accruingmore tickets. 

For example, numerous media outletsreported that the probability of winning the recent $1.337 billion MegaMillions jackpot was one out of 302,575,350.

Hypothetically, if aplayer had purchased 100 tickets these odds would improve to 100 out of302,575,350. 

So why do so manylottery players choose to only purchase one ticket? 

This ispredominantly due to the cost of playing. Most folks are not able or willing toinvest large amounts of money into slightly increasing their chances of winningbig.

After all, even with100 tickets the odds of winning the jackpot are miniscule. 

That’s why lotterypools are a popular choice. You can improve your chances of winning but withoutthe additional cost.

For example, if 100people chose to form a lottery pool and bought one ticket each, the chances ofthem winning the Mega Millions would match that of an individual who bought 100tickets themselves.

However, on the flipside, the winnings of $1.337 billion would have to then be split 100 ways ifthe lottery pool won, whereas the individual could keep it all forthemselves. 

Of course, splittingthe jackpot relies on winning in the first place but there is proof thatlottery pools can and do work. 

In 2012, 20 workersat a Quaker Oats factory in Iowa won $241 million. In the same year, 48 SEPTAworkers won $173 million.

In both these casesthe money was split amicably, highlighting how fantastic lottery pools can bewhen executed properly. 

Why Are They Associated With Offices?

Whilst many friends and families mayfrequently form lottery pools, the practice is most closely associated withwork colleagues, especially office workers.

The prevalence of lottery pools inoffice settings is thought to be due to a number of reasons, not all of themfinancially motivated. 

In fact, many offices decide to formlottery pools as a means of boosting workplace camaraderie. This is because itprovides employees with a common topic of conversation that can form thefoundation of future friendships. 

In a practical sense, offices tend tohost a large number of people, which may lead to sizable lottery poolsdeveloping. Mathematically speaking, larger pools mean an increased chance ofwinning. 

This fact makes forming lottery poolswith colleagues preferable to creating smaller pools with immediate friends orfamily.

How To Set Up A Lottery Pool

Setting up a lottery pool correctlyrequires high levels of organization and transparency, especially in aworkplace setting where the number of participants can be significant. 

1. Form Your Team

Regardless of setting, the first task is always to recruit members.

If the pool is being created in anoffice, it’s advisable to make everyone aware of the fact.

This not only ensures those at the topof the company are comfortable with the lottery pool going ahead, but also thatno employees feel left out or alienated. 

2. Set The Rules

Once all have been approached and alist of players has been collated, two decisions must be made.

The first is if participants have toplay every week, or if they can opt-in or out depending on theirpreference. 

The second is what the buy-in for eachdraw is. This could be anything from the price of one ticket to the price of 10and beyond. 

Tip: It is advised that all participants put in thesame amount of money each week as this will make the division of any potentialwinnings that much simpler. 

Businesses that see a number ofemployees absent throughout the week either due to working schedules orcommitments to clients, may wish to set up an in-house “bank”. 

This allows uncontactable or absentworkers to deposit money for future draws and therefore ensure that their moneyis collected for every weekly draw whether they be in the office or not.

3. Buy The Tickets

After the week’s entry money has been collected a single individual should use it to buy a pre-specified number of tickets.

Once the tickets have been received,they must be kept in a secure location. 

All that is left to do then is to sitback, watch the draw, and hope for a lucky win!

Lottery Pool Dos And Don’ts

Whilst the process of forming a lotterypool is quite simple, there are a few tips that ensure the pool is fair andfunctional for all. 

✅ Do Assign A Leader

First and foremost, every lottery poolshould have a clearly designated leader.

This will be the person responsible forcollecting money, purchasing tickets, and maintaining clear channels ofcommunication between all lottery pool members. 

Having a leader will ensure that theweekly processes are performed in a consistent manner, whilst players will havea contact they can reach out to if they have any questions or concerns.

✅ Do Make Sure You Sign A Contract

Secondly, make sure any agreements areput down in writing.

Signing a contract may seem excessivefor those who see the lottery pool as a bit of fun, however there are numerousexamples of verbal agreements falling apart when millions of dollars aresuddenly up for grabs. 

A clearly written and signed documentensures that there can be no arguments over who was playing, or the way thewinnings should be split. 

✅ Do Keep Tabs On Who Plays Each Week

Another important process is that afterthe collection of that week’s entry money, the pool leader should always emaila full list of the week’s participants to all lottery pool members. 

This ensures that those who have chosennot to play that week’s draw cannot stake a claim to any of the pool’spotential winnings. 

✅ Do Make Sure The Leader Sends Copies Of The Tickets Out

The lottery pool leader should alwayssend a copy of the week’s lottery tickets to all players upon purchasingthem. 

This is vital as it prevents the poolleader from never actually purchasing the tickets and pocketing the pool’smoney or from using one of the pool’s tickets to claim the jackpot as anindividual.

A trend that has caused multiple lottery pools to take their leaders to court as reported by NBC News. 

The importance of this process is reinforced by Jason Kurland, a Criminal and Civil Litigation Attorney who stated to Time Magazine: 

“You can look at caseswhere there is a ‘leader’ collecting all the money, buying tickets and if notdone right, that leader might win on their own ticket and no one in the poolwill believe them. It’s pretty scary especially in states where it’s an anonymouswinner, no one is going to know if the tickets aren’t photocopied.”

✅ Do Agree On How Winnings Will Be Split

All lottery pool participants shouldcome to an agreement concerning how small winnings will be dealt with, as theseamounts are probably not worth splitting between numerous pool members. 

Popular alternatives to splitting smallwinnings include using the money to buy more tickets for the next draw orbuying treats such as coffees for the pool members. 

❌ Don’t Use Cash

Whilst cash may seem like the easiestpayment option, it can cause headaches in the future because it leaves no trace.

Digitally transferring money createsproof that the transaction occurred; proof that may well prove vital if playersfind themselves battling over winnings in court. 

❌ Don’t Allow Verbal Agreements

For the same reason as not using cash,verbal agreements should also be avoided.

IOUs or verbal agreements on who hasentered that week’s draw may well fall apart when large sums of money are atstake, so always get everything in writing.

Are Office Lottery Pools Legal?

In the US the legality of officelottery pools is predominantly down to location.

This is because lottery pools are a form of gambling and as such are dependent on the state’s gambling laws. 

In states like Nevada, where gamblingis commonplace and widely encouraged, there should be no problem with officelottery pools. 

Of course, the opposite is also true,so you should always do your research before setting up a lottery pool.

In states like Utah, where all forms ofgambling are prohibited, lottery pools are illegal and should therefore not beorganized.  

Furthermore, as office lottery poolsoccur on company property – and during company hours – permission should alwaysbe sought from the company owner, or manager before setting one up.

Finally, all government employees orcivilians working at government facilities are generally not allowed to takepart in gambling, even in states where it is legal, as it goes against federalworkplace rules.

Lottery pools are therefore prohibitedwithin these working environments.