Artists' Lottery Syndicate

Are you an artist looking for a lucky break?

home | about | members | news stream

Annual Report

The Syndicate Secretary published the final Annual Report at the end of the year, detailing the Syndicate's total annual costs and winnings, including the two final bonus draws (EuroMillions on Friday 1 July and Lotto on Saturday 2 July 2011) not accounted for in the 4th Quarterly Report.

Download Annual Report (1 July - 2 July 2011) >

Quarterly Reports

The Syndicate Secretary also published four Quarterly Reports over the course of the year on 1 October 2010, 1 January, 1 April and 1 July 2011. These reports gave a brief synopsis of the Syndicate's costs and winnings during these periods, including the total return for each of the 40 members.

Download 1st Quarterly Report (1 July - 30 September 2010) >
Download 2nd Quarterly Report (1 October - 31 December 2010) >
Download 3rd Quarterly Report (1 January - 31 March 2011) >
Download 4th Quarterly Report (1 April - 30 June 2011) >

Finances

The Artists' Lottery Syndicate ran from 1 July 2010 - 1 July 2011. During this time the Syndicate strategically played The National Lottery using a system designed to maximise the odds for forty players (see below for full details). This required the Syndicate to purchase 44 lines on each of the two weekly UK Lotto draws (at £1 per ticket, per draw) and 36 lines on the weekly EuroMillions (£2 per ticket).

Each artist joining the Syndicate was required to pay £4 per week for the duration of the year. This made a total of £208, which was either paid up front in one instalment (by cheque of BACs transfer) or via a weekly standing order, which was set up in advance of 1 July 2010.

Each artist joining the Syndicate had to commit for one full year.

Ellie Harrison was the secretary of the Artists' Lottery Syndicate. She was the Syndicate manager and took responsibility for coordinating the group, collecting in payments from members and buying all the lottery tickets. The Syndicate's banking was done via a Co-operative Bank Community Directplus account. This account required the signatures of the two registered signatories (Ellie Harrison and James Hutchinson of the Salford Restoration Office) for the withdrawal of any funds.

All prize winnings remained in the Syndicate bank account until the 1 July 2011. On 2 July 2011 the total prize winnings were divided equally between all forty members and either paid out by cheque or used to reinvest in The Artists' Bond: a new long-term speculative funding scheme established in 2011 by former members of the Syndicate.

The Syndicate System

The Artists' Lottery Syndicate purchased 44 lines in both the Wednesday and Saturday UK Lotto draws. Each of these lines used the five same Artists' Lottery Syndicate numbers* with the sixth number on each line being unique to that ticket. This system ensured that every single number drawn (from 1-49) was covered on one of the 44 lines, which increased the chances of winning the jackpot nearly seven times from 1-in-14 million to 1-in-1.9 million. Download a breakdown of the 44 lines >

The Artists' Lottery Syndicate also played 36 lines on the EuroMillions draw each Friday. Each of these lines used the five same Artists' Lottery Syndicate numbers* plus every single possible combination the two Lucky Star numbers (from 1-9). This system ensured that both Lucky Star numbers were drawn in one of the 36 lines, which increased the chances of winning a cash prize from 1 in 103 to 1 in 3. Each of the 36 lines also included an entry into the Millionaire Raffle which guaranteed a £1 million cash prize to one UK ticket each week. Download a breakdown of the 36 lines >

*The five Artists' Lottery Syndicate numbers (15, 31, 35, 41, 48) were selected at random on 1 July 2010. View video of numbers being selected >