Retired entertainer Ray Spiller, 71, is so convinced he will win the National Lottery that he has a few bottles of champagne waiting to celebrate.
He has always enjoyed entering the draw since it started 30 years ago. But, in December, Ray decided to see if people wanted to join a lottery syndicate to buy tickets together and increase their chance of winning.
Ray expected a few people to come forward – but the numbers have now grown to more than 70, making up eight groups in just a few months.
Ray Spiller and his wife Jan, 69, started to arrange coach trips for their Essex community to visit theatres in London, seaside towns and stately homes, and this is where members of Ray’s Lottery syndicates were first found
His syndicate groups are so popular that he has a waiting list of hopefuls and when they creep up to nine people, he creates a new one. Ray is the tenth member of each group.
Would-be millionaires know the odds are stacked against them – 45 million-to-one for each ticket winning the jackpot. That’s where syndicates come in.
The premise is simple: pay a stake each month to enter the lottery as a group.
A team gets more chances to match the winning numbers. For example, a group of ten paying a £2 stake each for every draw has ten tickets between them in the running to match the winning numbers, instead of just one each. The only difference is that syndicate members will need to split the prize money among themselves if they win.
Retired entertainer Ray Spiller, 70, is so convinced he will win the National Lottery that he has bottles of champagne saved for when he does
The dynamic was even the focus of a BBC TV drama – The Syndicate – where workers at a supermarket join forces to win the lottery. Ray, who lives in Broomfield, Essex, says: ‘The big win is definitely coming up soon. I tell all the members – it’s going to happen.’
None of his syndicates, however, has so far won more than £140 in a line (matching four numbers).
How did Ray’s lottery hobby start? When the country emerged from the haze of Covid lockdowns, Ray and his wife, Jan, 69, began to arrange coach trips to visit theatres in London, seaside towns and stately homes.
What they thought might have been a few trips a year has transformed into a full-time business and the couple are working harder than ever – despite retiring from their jobs as live entertainers in clubs.
Ray and Jan keep avid coach-trippers up to date via the Broomfield Coach Trips newsletter. It’s sent to 3,600 people every month and last year Ray floated the idea of forming a lottery syndicate to subscribers. The rest, as they say, is history.
He now buys ten Lotto lines per syndicate group for every draw – Wednesday and Saturday – for four weeks. It works out at £16 a member, but it can be less if the syndicate has had a lucky month, as Ray takes the winnings off the cost for the next round of lines.
If they played alone, members’ probability of hitting the jackpot would be one in 45,057,475 for the £2 stake per game (one ticket). In one syndicate of ten people (ten tickets), everyone has a one in 4,505,748 chance, even though they have not increased their spending at all.
The married couple are happy with where they live now, so plan to spend their future winnings on trips out for the syndicate members
Ray spends about 14 to 16 hours every month on administration to keep it all going.
He enters online and chooses the Lucky Dip random generator option, instead of picking the sequences himself. For full transparency, he then compiles a document with the numbers for each syndicate for the four weeks and sends it to the group before the first draw. Ray and Jan check if any of the numbers match after every draw – even if they arrive home late after a coach trip to the capital.
Jan says: ‘He sits there glued to the computer. I think, “Here we go again.”’ The pair check half of the lines each.
‘The National Lottery sends me an email to say that I’ve won. So even if I didn’t check it, I’d know,’ Ray says. ‘But we check it on the day of the draw nonetheless because of the excitement.’
The syndicates typically match two numbers on dozens of lines (this affords them a free entry into the Lotto Lucky Dip). They have also won £30 some 66 times.
‘We just need a few more noughts on there!’ Jan adds.
One of the syndicates had a bigger win a few weeks ago when they matched four numbers and received a £140 prize.
‘The sweat started going down my neck and I started to think, “This is it!”’ Ray says. ‘I get nervous when the first three numbers match.’
The National Lottery website advises syndicates to put an agreement in place for ‘peace of mind’ for all members. A document also helps to ensure winnings are tax-free, it states. It can prove to the taxman that payments to syndicate members are prizes and not gifts.
Ray’s agreement lays out his address and banking details and says players will get payouts within four weeks and that, in the event of hitting the jackpot, the group won’t do any publicity.
‘If the real big win comes in, I’ve already said to the syndicates that we’ll hire the County Hotel for the afternoon and I’ll hand out the cheques. We’ll do a cream tea for everyone.
One of Ray’s syndicates had a bigger win two weeks ago when they matched four numbers and received a healthy £140 prize
‘Most people want to buy a big seven-bedroom house with a swimming pool, but we’re quite content living here. It’s silly things. I’ve always wanted a grandfather clock. And Jan will be 70 next year so I’d buy her something special.’
Donating to charity is also high on the couple’s list: ‘We’re on the flight path for the air ambulance,’ Jan explains. ‘If we get this big win, we will go around there and give them a cheque.’
And, as Ray says: ‘The odds are in the lottery’s favour, of course, but one day…’
- Are you a member of a lottery syndicate? Email l.evans@dailymail.co.uk
Syndicates: What you need to know
1. Syndicates should appoint a manager to pick the numbers, enter the draws and collect and distribute funds.
2. There is no limit to the number of people you can have in a syndicate – but the winnings will become smaller as more join.
3. Agree how the syndicate will work before playing. For example, discuss what would happen if the syndicate won in the week that one member missed a payment. Decide if the group will go public if you win a big prize.
4. Keep a record of who is in the syndicate. This is because lottery wins are tax-free. However, if you do not have a record in place and the syndicate wins, it could look as if the manager is the winner and is distributing the winnings as gifts to other members. Gifts could be liable for inheritance tax if the syndicate manager dies within seven years and exceeds their tax-free allowances.
5. For extra transparency, managers could tell the group what numbers have been entered or share photos or screenshots of the tickets to prove they have been bought.
6. Syndicate managers can update their online National Lottery account to show their status. But if managers buy tickets in person, they do not need to register.
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