The National Lottery has warned syndicates to draw up guidelines to avoid costly court disputes over winnings, it emerged today.
A lack of clarity on arrangements has led to a number of syndicates spending their winnings on lawyers' fees rather than cars and foreign holidays.
"Every syndicate is different but they should have guidelines to govern the way the group plays together," said Lottery spokeswoman Ms Paula McEvoy.
The National Lottery advises that syndicates should:
- Keep track of their winnings and payments
- Keep communication with all members in the syndicate
- Generate a syndicate agreement in advance to avoid disputes after winning a jackpot.
There are thousands of syndicates in workplaces around the country and they account for a significant number of jackpot wins.
A syndicate in Mayo are currently appealing to the Supreme Court, after the High Court ruled they were wrong to exclude a fifth member from their €2 million lotto prize.
The syndicate had claimed to have removed Mr Martin Horan in October 2000, months before their jackpot win of January 6 2001, because his contributions were in arrears.
However, the High Court found that Mr Horan was still a member of the syndicate because no arrangement had been made to distribute its previous winnings to him. Ms McEvoy said that in general, syndicate disputes were rare. "We've had hundreds of syndicates which are such good friends."
However, in 2002, a syndicate member was accused of trying to claim a €1.2 million winning million Lotto winning ticket for himself and his girlfriend.
He told the other 15 syndicate members that their weekly lotto tickets had won nothing, before tearing them up and throwing them into a skip.
However, the construction workers became suspicious when they learnt an hour later that the man's partner was claiming to have won the jackpot. When they searched the skip, they found that one of the four lotto tickets bought by the man on behalf of the syndicate was missing.
The syndicate won a temporary injunction in the High Court to prevent the National Lottery from paying out on the winning ticket. The case was later settled out of court, with each of the 16 members receiving an even share of €79,300.
PA