The text below has been taken directly from Camelot's leaflet 'PLAYING IN A GROUP', which is freely available from National Lottery retailers. Just to be clear, although this is an unauthorised copy of the leaflet, I am in no way claiming any ownership of, or credit for, the following text, which has been reproduced here solely for the benefit of my visitors.

Playing in a group can increase the fun and excitement of playing The National Lottery. Groups can be made up of friends, family or work colleagues. It's a great way of playing The National Lottery and by following a few simple guidelines playing should be easy and enjoyable.

For example, let's say you and nine of your friends decide to form a group, putting in £1 a draw each. Instead of your £1 buying one set of six numbers you'll have an equal share in ten sets of numbers, giving you ten times more chances of winning a prize. So if your group won a jackpot of £2,000,000 your share would be £200,000.

GETTING STARTED
The first thing you must do when setting up a group is to decide who's going to be in it, how much they're going to pay each week and the corresponding percentage share of any prize.

It's a good idea to appoint a manager. This person will be responsible for the running of the group, purchasing the tickets and the collection and division of the winnings.

Under The National Lottery Game Rules, a prize on a winning ticket is payable to one person only; this should, we suggest, be the manager of your group. The manager should write their name and address on the back of the ticket and keep it safe. It will be that person's responsibility to share out the winnings with the other members of the group.

If there is no agreement and the winner of a prize transfers parts of it to others, these gifts may attract Inheritance Tax. If the members of the group can prove that the distribution of the prize was made in accordance with a group agreement entered into before the win no liability to Inheritance Tax will arise.*

YOUR GROUP AGREEMENT
When you've decided who's going to be in the group and before you start to play, you should draw up a group agreement. We suggest that the agreement should include the following:

• The date the agreement was drawn up.
• The names of the group members.
• The appointed manager's name.
• How the numbers will be selected each draw.
• Whether the group will enter both the Wednesday and Saturday draws, or the Wednesday or Saturday draw only.
• How much each member will pay per draw and the corresponding percentage share of any prize.
• What happens if a member fails to pay their contribution at any time.
• If the group has a big win, how the members will decide whether or not they want publicity.

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

• The agreement must be signed and dated by each group member and should be witnessed by, we suggest, a solicitor, doctor or someone of similar standing.
• If the group changes a new agreement should be drawn up.
• Copies should be given to each member, and the original kept in a safe place, as the Inland Revenue may require to see it as evidence of the group agreement.

HOW TO PLAY IN A GROUP
There are two ways for your group to play The National Lottery: Weekly or Advance Play.

• Weekly.
  Each week the manager should take the group's completed playslips to the retailer and pay for them to be entered in the Wednesday draw, the Saturday draw or both draws, as decided by the group.
• Advance Play.
  To make running the group easier, you may like to play the same numbers for up to eight weeks. Simply mark the appropriate box on the playslip to show the draw(s) - Wednesday, Saturday or both - you want the group's numbers to be entered for. Next, mark the appropriate box in the columns headed 'Number of Weeks' on the playslip. This will ensure the group's numbers are automatically entered for the chosen draw(s) and number of weeks.

RUNNING A GROUP

1. COLLECTING MONEY FROM THE GROUP.
   Whether members pay their money weekly or in advance, a record should be kept of who's paid what so everybody knows where they stand.
   Remember. It's a good idea to decide what you are going to do if one of the members of the group can't pay for a particular draw. Get this clear from the start, just in case the situation arises.
2. BUYING YOUR TICKETS.
   The manager will be responsible for purchasing the tickets. Before this can be done playslips must be completed with the group's numbers. Each set of numbers will cost £1 per draw. Playslips should be taken to a National Lottery retailer who will give you your lottery tickets which record your numbers, and the draws for which they're entered.
   Your tickets should be kept safe as they will be required to claim a prize. It's important that the manager writes his/her name and address on the tickets. You may like to make a photocopy of the ticket(s) for each of your group's members.
3. LOOK OUT FOR THE WINNING NUMBERS.
   Winning numbers will be broadcast every Wednesday and Saturday evening on BBC1 and Radio 5 Live. They will also be available in national newspapers and clearly displayed in all National Lottery retailers.
   Remember. Winnings should be collected by your manager and shared out according to your group agreement.

THINGS TO REMEMBER
The National Lottery does not encourage entries made by or on behalf of commercial and advertised syndicates and is not liable to make payments of any prize on a ticket which it knows or suspects has been resold or otherwise transferred by way of trade. There is no facility for bulk purchase of tickets.

If you have any questions or complaints about The National Lottery ask your National Lottery retailer or phone The National Lottery Line on 0645 100 000 (calls normally charged at the local rate in the UK), or visit The National lottery website at www.national-lottery.co.uk. For the hard of hearing please call our Minicom 0645 100 045. Or you can write to this address:
The National Lottery, PO Box 1010, Liverpool L70 1NL

Each group member must be 16 years or over to play The National Lottery.

A summary of the Player Code Of Practice is on display at all National Lottery retailers.

In the event of any discrepancy between this leaflet and the Games Rules and Procedures, the Games Rules and Procedures apply.

We hope these guidelines are useful. They are, though, given without legal liability on our part, and we would advise you to consider having a solicitor prepare the form of agreement.

*It is important to note that Inland Revenue law and practice may change, the comments on Inheritance Tax are based on our understanding of Inland Revenue practice as of November 1994.

THE NATIONAL LOTTERY
© Camelot Group plc. 1997.
The National Lottery, PO Box 287, Watford WD1 8TT