Is There A Limit On Group Play?

A lottery player recently asked a question that presents a new twist on an issue that often comes our way. The questioner wanted to know if there’s a limit on the number of people who can pool their money to purchase tickets together in a game like Powerball.

We’ve blogged here before about the issue of group play, but we don’t think the question has ever been posed just the way it has now.

The short answer is that there is no limit. So if you and five of your closest friends or 1,000 of your closest friends want to buy tickets together, you certainly can! You’ll just need to do the math to figure out each person’s share when a prize is won. And, each member of the group also must sign an IRS Form 5754 so all of the winners are listed for tax-reporting purposes.

Whatever the size of the group, here are some other general reminders:

• Keep a list of everyone who gives money to buy group tickets and how much they contribute.
• If you’re buying tickets for a group and also plan to buy tickets for yourself, you may want to buy them separately so there’s no confusion about which tickets are which.
• You also may want to make photocopies of the tickets for your group and give out copies before the drawing so everyone can see the numbers that were played.