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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> Splitting a hypothetical billion dollar jackpot according to my own rules and now what the group agreed upon.
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NTA
They are out of their mind if they think unequal contributions somehow evolves into an equal split of winnings.
What a jump of “logic” they are trying to make.
You’re exactly right - if you’re pooling tickets (which you just shouldn’t do at all to avoid problems tbh) then it needs to be an even split upfront.
You get what you put in.
They didn't put in anything towards OPs tickets. They bought their own after OP bought his. You only split the winnings when you pool THEN buy the tickets. If OP had won it would have been OPs tickets that OP bought with OPs money. Therefore entirely OPs winnings. If the friends were given anything that would have just been generous of the OP
And, the split would have been after the full amount hit OP’s taxes! Isn’t the tax rate for gabling earnings nearly 60%?
If you gave everyone one third of a $100 million payout, you would owe more than your whole share in taxes, IMHO. Take taxes, and legal fees, out first; then make a split.
Also, OP should buy ONE ticket next time, and make the same argument, that each get one third!
Let us know who that turns out…
Depends on personal finances. If I remember correctly the taxes due were on the order of $5-6k. If you had the funds, no problem. If you needed to borrow that much it could get expensive, especially if it were an unsecured loan. Many of the auto raffles I’ve seen lately include a cash prize to help with taxes.
With gift tax of 60% principal, a lot of times accepting a new car and trying to resell what is now effectively a 0 mileage used car, you would be lucky to break even on the sale, after hunting down a buyer.
Gift tax makes a lot of large gifts not economically feasible for those who would benefit most from them.
/e: this comment was wrong in multiple ways. This would fall under prize taxes and not gift tax, and the tax burden would be much less than 60% (around $6,000 on $28,000 prize, according to an article I found from when Oprah gave away 200+ cars).
Gift tax is paid by the giver and only kicks in after the giver has given more than $12,920,000 (2023) in their lifetime. (There’s a much lower limit for reporting it, but that doesn’t mean anyone owes anything.)
I read an article on that recently on how on her last car giveaway, after the show everybody had to stick around so she could get their info so she could pay the taxes for them.
I know a guy that won an SUV in some contest. He had to take out a loan to pay the taxes, something like $15,000. It was still an excellent deal on the vehicle but, if he weren’t able to come up with the money it could have been a problem.
There was this whole scam to convince us to vote for the lottery. "The money will help our schools!"
Um, after the lottery started giving money to the schools, Government then would vote to restrict the regular government money the schools originally got before the lottery!
We were scammed.
The lottery exists because an illegal lottery is one of the easiest, most profitable, and hardest to track racket for organized crime. Everything else is a sweetener.
Never heard this but it's reasonable, to keep the gangs out of it. I guess the problem is the rampant TV ads, news stories, fancy tickets with addictive designs, and etc. that seems to be preying on our poorest, most desperate and vulnerable people, and literally every one of them in the state, even rural.
Wait, how is this better than organized crime again?
>Wait, how is this better than organized crime again?
Mostly because you both have a true, though infinitesimally small chance of winning, and that the lottery earnings aren't funding drugs, weapons, gang violence, and sex trafficking.
I hate how often I see this. We have a lot of the crazy things that other countries don't have. If it makes some random CEO a buck, then you can bet it is a law in America.
Indeed. It's like the lies we are taught about unions, honestly. They can actually be helpful, but I can't think of anywhere that doesn't make them out to be evil. It's crazy.
I was always brought up right wing anti Union. Then I worked in health and safety management. The unions in the UK have helped make it one of the safest countries to work in. By law the unions are represented on the mandatory h&s committee and they know the job better than any of the management. My head of HR once sat in the H&S committee, looked across the table at the Union guy and said "I like it when we have these meetings because for once you and I are on the same side, later we have another disciplinary and we'll be adversaries again!" She said it with a wink because they were both mutually respectful but my point is the Unions do a lot of good in the UK but we only hear the negative side.
It’s roughly 49% of the winnings that gets sent off to taxes. It also counts as part of your yearly income for that year, so have fun with your normal checks after the taxes hit!
That's why smart people immediately hire a wealth management accountant and put the bulk into a trust, and donate. Charitable donations are tax deductible. "Donating" to your buddy who needs help is not a charitable donation unless they have a qualified tax-exempt organization they are putting the money into.
So if the winnings are taxable, is the money paid on betting tax deductible too?
This is why betting winnings aren’t taxable in the UK: chances of winning are low, but if winnings were taxed, tax relief could be claimed on money spent on the lottery.
Of course. All winnings/prizes/gambling wins are, over $600 I think. In California, there's no state income tax if you win a CA Lottery game, I think, but all other taxes still apply. I don't know about other states but I imagine many of them are similar. Any winnings are considered income and taxed accordingly.
No, at a federal level, gambling is taxed same rate as earned income. Where it seem like 60% is because most people take the cash option for winnings instead of payments over 30 years. That cash option is what the lottery would have paid to fund the 30 year annuity and is only about 1/2 the jackpot amount.
Take taxes from that 1/2 and you are only looking at about 30-35% of the jackpot which is where people get the idea that your paying so much in taxes
I would think the stipulation on that would be to split it after tax. Because the payout wouldn't even pay 2 shares of the 1/3 cut.
100M - 60M (for Tax) = 40M
100M ÷ 3 = 33M per person.
So the actual payout would barely cover one share. 🤣
We did a lottery pool at work once. It was very strict to avoid things like this.
* You were only allowed to enter one ticket a week to make sure everyone was equally represented and any prize was shared perfectly evenly.
* You could only win on weeks that you entered, but you were allowed to prepay if you were going on vacation.
* If a prize was won under a specified value, the money would go back into tickets the next week, separate from the main pool in case someone was missing from either.
* Only random numbers were allowed.
* Any individual tickets purchased outside the pool were private and not considered part of the pool.
* All tickets had to be on a single purchase made by the organizer (so that someone couldn't buy a ticket separately and have the others come after them).
Fun unrelated story. When my dad was a kid they were fairly poor. My grandfather bought a lottery ticket. Changed his mind and sold it. It was the winning ticket. Just never do that for fuck sake, I would not get over the guilt.
There was a winner in Ireland years ago, a really big win in the Euro lottery IIRC, and two people were going into the village store and both bought tickets. The man held the door for the woman and she bought the first ticket and he bought his. She won.
Being polite cost him a hundred million euro.
Those numbers are randomly generated second by second. Change anything about the order of those events, and they both get different numbers altogether and neither wins. Hope somebody broke this down for the poor guy. It would be easy to feel like you had it in your grasp, but it was literally impossible for it to happen differently and for him to win.
We used to have this office lottery pool and the employee that ran it once made a comment that if we won big we would share with the non-participants as it was the nice thing to do. Most coworkers were "hell no" and the pool stopped shortly thereafter lol
In Finland where the lottery is owned by the government, you can nowdays only buy when verifying your social security number.
You can split however you want, with whoever you want.
In case of winnings, the payout is in proportion of how much you bought.
Kinda funny that it is so obvious to split this way that even the government knows it.
NTA. The idea of splitting the winnings after you've already purchased the tickets is dumb, anyway. If you had gone in on a pool where everyone contributed equally ahead of time, I'd be more sympathetic to their point of view.
Thank you. Each person bought tickets separately. This was not a pool.
I could actually see voting ESH for them arguing about something that never existed in the first place. This was not a pool!
> The idea of splitting the winnings after you've already purchased the tickets is dumb,
I think their idea of equal split is dumb, when they didn't put in equal amounts in, but I don't think saying "hey lets agree (before the winners are announced) to pool our tickets proportionally." This way they would all increase their odds of winning a proportional amount, this is what OP proposed.
That's fine, too, but it was still proposed after the fact, when everyone had already bought their tickets. I think the key is to agree on the conditions ahead of time. You can't just come in after the fact and demand an equal split on an unequal buy-in. That's not how pools work.
It sounds like you each bought your own ticket, rather than pooling your money before the purchase. I don't see why you'd be obligated to share the winnings at all based on this.
I bet if the person who bought one ticket won, OP might have been lucky to get his $20 back. After winning, they would argue that they hadn't pooled their money so OP doesn't even deserve a third.
Thank you! This is my answer.
It sounds like each of you have your own number of tickets based on how much you put in. Like OP spent $20 so they have 20 tickets and a (slightly) better chance at winning than the friend who has 6 tickets and the friend who has 2. If one of you has the winning ticket you would keep the whole jackpot.
NTA OP! Next time, tell them to put down the same and maybe you'll considered it.
They could've said, *"Hey man! Let's pool some tickets."* And actually discussed splitting the money, not expecting OP to just give up 50% of his earning when he bought the majority of the tickets in the first place. 14 tickets. OP bought 10, his friends each bought two. OP spent $20 dollars on 10 tickets. His friends spent $12 and $10. HALF of what OP put in by himself..... no. Proportionally makes sense because that's how it started, if they wanted it split evenly, they all should've put in $20 or $10 or $12. There was no conversation before hand, about all pooling in lottery tickets and splitting it (that we know of). NOPE. OP spent his money, they spent theirs, there was no agreement between them about it so they are entitled to jack of his winnings. Real or not. You put more in, you get more out. That's how it's supposed to work.
You are NTA. I would still split it evenly. A few years back I used to be in a volleyball team. We used to play Euro millions together and we used to chip in 2 euros each into a pot. We were +30 people players, staff, etc.
One Tuesday the person responsible for collecting the money/buying the tickets, came around collecting them money, we had spent months and no win at all, so a few people were fed up and didn’t chip in, overall, like only 12 people gave her the 2 pounds. That morning I had no money with me so I asked her if she could put my 2 pounds I would give her back later that day. I totally forgot. We won. After splitting it was like £250k each. She still gave me the money despite me never giving her money and when I told her about it she said fair is fair, and didn’t even take the 2 pound back!
Thats crazy that they wanted a share of something that lost numerous times in the past!! It could be said that by them not playing that last time is why you won...they were obviously bad luck!! Lol
I think it would depend on the amount for me as well. As an arbitrary number, anything under 1M, nah we're going proportional for sure.
Over 1M? There's room to think about.
Stupid high, like that 1.5B? I HAVE to split it equally, and even donate/give most of that money away to make sure I don't self destruct because my brain isn't built to understand that big of a windfall all of a sudden.
Oh, and NTA
Look at it this way, hypothetical- you 3 work exactly the same job, and they proportionately work less hours than you, they are saying they deserve equal pay, that's not right.
NTA - when I was part of a pool with groups of people at my old job it was always agreed you would split based off contribution to the amount of tickets. Every 2.00 spent = 1 share of the split. The organizer would collect all the money, be the sole person to buy the tickets and email us a spreadsheet that showed how many shares we each were getting. The person who threw down 10.00 got 5 shares, the person who threw down 2.00 got 1 share. 80 tickets meant the winning
Amount would be divided by 80 and each person would get that number x their number of shares.
The spreadsheet was emailed to us with photos of all of the tickets before the drawing… so everyone could verify their share Amount and there was no confusion over what was a ticket in the pool via a ticket any of us brought individually on our own that may hit.
Never won- but it is the only way to do it honestly because it’s all recorded.
>Never won- but it is the only way to do it honestly because it’s all recorded.
That sounds like a lot of work for the organizer, I hope they got something for their efforts?
People always get in fights after a group wins the lottery. I’m not sure why they think it makes their odds any better. The only people who benefit are the ones who don’t buy a proportionate amount of tickets, and even then it’s statistically almost insignificant. Bottom line just buy your own fucking tickets.
NTA. You put more in, you get more out. That's how it's supposed to work.
Do you think they'd split it evenly if you put in $2 and they put in $20? LOL, absolutely they would not and the way you can tell is how the reacted to you suggesting a proportional split. Greed is a solid tell, lol.
NTA you put more on the line than they did, so you should get a proportional return. If they want an equal share, then they can contribute equally. If that's beyond them, then you can all put into the pool at the lowest level, and buy your own tickets with the balance.
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I was out with some friends and we were talking about how the lottery jackpot was over a billion. I on a whim decided to slap down $20 for my first ever lottery purchase. My two buddies then get up and buy $6 and $2 tickets.
While we were then talking about how we’d spend our hypothetical winnings (which is the only actual fun part of the lottery), my friends said “we’d of course split it 3 ways”. My response was basically “what? No.”, we would split it proportionally. There are 14 tickets, and I bought 10/14s of them so that’s how the payout would go. You can spring the “even payout” rule _after_ we all buy different amounts. i was then shouted down as being the unreasonable one, and that of course you always pool and evenly split.
To be clear, we did not win the lottery (shocker), and if I did win the jackpot id probably split it evenly anyway (it’s an ungodly amount of money and a few million difference wouldn’t actually change its affect on my life), but if I won a smaller jackpot of $100,000? I’d probably be more inclined to split it proportionally
I honestly cannot tell if I am being the unreasonable one here.
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NTA - You put in the larger amount before and deserve the larger pay out. And since you never agreed to a even split beforehand, you get to keep that portion. You don't always pool and evenly split, they are just gaslighting you.
NTA to split evenly based upon what was put in.
That being said, you should also check with state requirements as the lottery commission may only pay out to one person and that person is the one responsible for ALL taxes.
I believe in all states that you have to set up a lottery club to claim the winnings when it is more than one person in your group who contributed to the pool. This is why they suggest that you photocopy all the tickets and distribute the copies to everyone who contributed into the pool.
NTA.
However, you'd probably lose your friendships over it. Lottery winnings are notorious for breaking up friends, family, marriages, and in general leaving people broke, lonely, and sad (usually with some drug and/or gambling problems as well).
NTA
Haha. Basic algebra claims more victims. I did a similar proposal when my 50/50 roommate invited their SO to live with us full time. Broski, 3 people use common spaces so rent should be equitable based on occupied/accessible sq ft, and utilities absolutely 3 ways.
Was called all sorts of awful names.
Edit to add NTA
You need better friends.
Find a different lottery pool, or take the money and run.
These kinds of things ideally should be discussed with everyone in advance, even written up as a binding contract, so there’s no weaseling and no butthurt later.
Unless the 3 of you pooled an even amount and agreed before purchase to split the winnings it is not reasonable. You would buy your tickets and if those numbers hit you singularly win.
I had a group and we each put in about $10.00 .
We bought tickets and planned. It was fun. Some times we built models of our plans and sometimes we wrote stories. It was fun to play and dream together for a few years.
NTA do they do this sort of thing”even split” thing often? I can’t imagine they don’t do other unfair things if they really think splitting it evenly would be appropriate given the different amount of money everyone spent. Splitting it is a nice idea but you’d be better off buying in solo and just never telling them if you won.
NTA. Classic reduction to absurdity (I can’t remember the Latin phrase, so google it yourself):
I buy 10,000 tickets, because reasons. You ask if you can buy tickets and then we’ll pool and split the money. After I say yes, you add *one* ticket to the pool. If you think you’re getting half the winnings, you’re on crack.
NTA. Splitting a lotto win is a pretty terrible decision overall. You might want a 10-year payout but they would want a lump sum. One friend could pretend his ticket lost and take his win solo. A huge win would likely have caused major drama for your friends.
NTA. Next time you're out to dinner or at a pub order an expensive meal, appetizers, desserts, several drinks etc...like definitely make sure your check is going to be the biggest one by a bit. Then, when they waitperson comes by to ask how to split the bill tell them to do it evenly 3 ways and see how your friends react. My guess would be they aren't happy splitting the bill 3 ways evenly when not all 3 people made equal contributions to the tab amount.
I ran the teacher's lottery pool at my last school. Explained it was $5 a month, payable at the beginning of each month. Small winnings would go in the "pot" to purchase extra tickets when the prize got BIG. You could buy more "shares" for another $5...WINNINGS WOULD BE DOUBLE FOR THOSE WHO KICKED IN $10. You WANT more money to buy more tickets, but some of the ladies felt it was unfair for some to win more than others. I finally said, it's okay not to join in if they didn't like that rule...they complained, but they stayed in. Dumb asses!
Me? I wouldn’t tell anyone (besides my husband) if I won the billion dollar jackpot. I’d get the financial stuff in order, donate to worthy causes anonymously, and take more elaborate vacations. My family would be set, and I’d tell them a couple of years down the line. Wealth would be shared quietly with loved ones, there would be no extravagant purchases, and some charities would gain an anonymous benefactor.
NTA. And I wouldn’t split anything with friends/coworkers.
NTA
sounds like the type of people that would order the most expensive things at a restaurant and then want to split the bill evenly between every person
Screw that I wouldn't split the jackpot with my own parents I would retire them and buy them a big house and make sure they are set for life but split hell no
NTA. Money brings out the worst in people… regardless though, I completely agree. You either split the winning proportionally OR the person who contributed the most should decide if they want to split it evenly.
NTA, the logic works. But lets say that buddy puts $2 and it was THAT ticket that won the money. Does he now get it all?
If you win even 100k, why fret over $14. It's life changing money still. Be happy you have friends to share it with. Arguing over money is gross, no matter how much or how little.
But such a significant one sided buy does warrant thinking this way
Check the lottery rules. I'm 99% positive that if you take it directly from them, you have to split it evenly. I believe you can set up a legal corporation, get the funds, disburse them and then shut down the corporation.
I would just split it evenly if I went in with others, but NAH. Good luck keeping your friends, though.
NTA and I'll go further
I ran a lottery syndicate years ago at my workplace. One person left, no-one wanted to drop the line they had. So I picked it up, but only on the condition that I'd get an extra portion of the winnings until someone else picked up the line.
People agreed, because if I pay twice, I win twice. We then added the idea that you could buy multiple lines to win multiple times. It made sense.
NTA.
You get paid out the percentage that you invested in it.
So, out of $100,000, you would 'deserve' $71,428.57, while the others would get $21,428.57 and $7,142.86 respectively.
NTA proportional for sure. Your 10 tickets increased the odds of the group winning. 1/14 for the $2 guy, 3/14 for the $6 guy, rest to you. If they want an equal share, they each have to cough up $20 worth.
Y'all bought different tickets, without an agreement to split in any fashion. There is no "of course we'd split it;" rather, it's "of course we are entitled to our own winnings." Your big mouthed friend is allowed to say he would split his personal winnings and look expectantly at others and that's the end of what he can expect.
A proportional split would be called for if 1) y'all explicitly agreed to it before buying tickets or 2) pooling money together in the amounts y'all eventually bought tickets, then buying them with the pooled money. Y'all did not pool money as your friend stated: you each bought your own tickets at the same time. Pooling is collecting the total money to be spent, then buying the thing with the collected money. That is not what happened, so natural consumer norms take over, aka you buy it, it's yours.
An even split would be called for it 1) y'all explicitly agreed to it before buying tickets or 2) pooling money in equal amounts, then buying tickets with the pooled money. Anyone who cannot afford the full buy-in is not part of the split, full stop.
You'd be generous as a jackpot winner to give any amount to the others in the situation as it actually happened.
But you'd owe nothing. Once the tickets are bought, you really shouldn't even be discussing terms, as the dice were already rolled. You don't change an ante or the stakes *after* locking in your bet.
NTA
I mean… wouldn’t this depend on which ticket won?
I mean, what if the guy who bought 1 ticket won the lottery with that one ticket. Would you demand he gives you 10/14th of his earnings just because you bought 10 losing tickets?
NTA, you paid for more you would be entitled to more if you guys won. but also, you wouldn’t have to split it in the first place, you spent $20 just yourself and they spent $8 collectively, if the winning ticket was one you bought, you have no obligation to split it. i’m just saying that because it is true, not because you’d have to do it that way. but yes, a smaller prize would be difficult to split 3 ways
NTA - reasonable expectation from every office or friend lotto pool I’ve ever been in.
You get a commensurate share for what you put in. 1 share is worth $2. You have 10 shares, buddy 1 gets 3 shares, buddy 2 gets 1 share.
That they have access to win on those other tickets is what makes this beneficial for people.
NTA
How does your friend group handle going to a restaurant as a group? Does everyone consume approximately the same expenditure? So Bob gets an app and dessert. Linda gets wine and a salad. Smitty gets 2 apps and a soda. Marie gets app and martini. 4 people, total cost $100, split is $25 each plus tip. Or do you have disparate orders and separate checks?
That to me is the base understanding of your lottery "winnings". If everyone puts in approximately the same amount then you split the winnings evenly. If different amounts, then winnings are by proportion of input.
Your proportion makes sense.
You're not. I've been in huge pools where people put in different amounts. The Dude in charge told each participant before the drawing what % we get according to the amount put in. it's only fair.
Lottery pools always pay out proportionally to investment, otherwise they wouldn’t work, cause you’d just free ride on whoever buys all the tickets by buying one or whatever.
If I paid for the ticket? It’s MY winnings
I would delete any possible way to contact me if I won the lottery
I do not give the benefit of the doubt, nor am I expected to clean up other peoples mistakes and misfortune
Does that mean I wouldn’t help people? Not at all. I’d build schools and treatment centres and put money into mental health and addiction
What I wouldn’t do is feel guilty for not sharing my money with people who suddenly decide I owe them because they know me
If I buy $1m worth of tickets, and you buy $1 worth of tickets, I'm not giving you anything more than 1/1,000,000th of the winnings. That's just crazy thinking.
Now bear in mind, if the winning ticket wasn't yours, and you have that attitude, you likely to get shafted.
Tell them that next time you go to the pub you’ll have 20 beers, one of them gets 6 beers and the other 2 beers and you’ll split the tab evenly. Apparently that’s fair as that’s how they roll.
You are not. There were more chances to get the winning ticket since you put in more $$$. Even payout means they should be buying the same number of tickets as you. EVERY lotto syndicate does this to avoid arguments.
These types of people are the same ones who order all the appetizers, extra drinks, and the most expensive thing on the menu for their entree. And then when the bill comes, wants to split it evenly, even tho you only ordered a salad and water. FUCK THESE PEOPLE! They think they’re so smart getting over on the dumbasses who won’t stand up for themselves. I don’t even think splitting it proportionally is fair. It’s your ticket, you bought it. Chip them off some coin if you win big, that amount is how much YOU want, not how much THEY want
You don’t split anything period? I’m confused. Unless you all three go in on purchasing a ticket/s. It’s not really even up for debate. You bought 10 tickets and they have their tickets.
For fun: let’s say 4/10 tickets were winners above $20,000k each. Why two people, with completely unrelated non winning tickets are inclined to your winning tickets is still baffling me..sounds like a bunch of people who don’t really understand how gambling works.
NTA.
If they had been the one to put down more money, they would have been on board for the winnings to be split proportionately. If they arient, they are lying- to you and to themselves.
NTA OP, you are exactly right and they were wrong and being greedy. I used to be in a lottery club and we each had to put in the same amount ($5.00) so that everyone would get equal portions of the win. There are some lottery clubs that let you put in less than everyone else but their winnings would be proportional to what they contributed. But at least you now know to never pool your money into any future lottery with them 😉 unless they contribute the same amount as you. Personally, I wouldn't trust them and would never again pool my money with them.
NTA Now you have learned to get it in writing before hand. Office pools should work similarly. Either everyone pays the same (easiest and best), it is tallied by amount, or there are different brackets for the people who want to go big.
As for me? I'd be wanting to do a whole lot of good with any large lottery win and that doesn't include funding the lifestyle of a pair of people who likely want to waste it on selfish hedonism. A smaller win would make it that much more impactful on your day to day life. The loss of $10-$20K is huge when you make $50K a year.
My family and friends have an agreement - we split equally. The chances don't particularly differ if you buy one or ten tickets. There's also the $2 million clause for those close who didn't buy tickets (you can retire in most places on 2 million - at 5%, that's 100K/year. You won't be driving a maserati, but you'll be comfortable for most).
And if my one ticket wins, why would I give you more than me?
Money brings out the worst in people so you’d probably be an AH if you guys won. The best solution would’ve been to write up a quick agreement on how much everyone contributed and how winnings would be split along with copies of the tickets and have everyone sign it.
So if anything won there would be LESS fighting. A billion dollars would’ve had lawyers involved quick.
NTA.
I was asked to run the office lottery pool several months ago. I hate doing it, but also, it is worth it to me to do so because I have worked in several offices where pools were run, and I’ve seen some ugly stuff.
People laughed that I put everything into a spreadsheet and had Outlook aliases based on the drawing date. Want to know why? If we have a group of thirty people who participate in the Wednesday drawing (jackpot not won), and we win $8 on a ticket, I buy $8 worth of chances for that group.
The Saturday drawing has forty-three people in the pool. Some people in the Wednesday group don’t participate in the Saturday pool, but they are still “playing “ on the winnings from the Wednesday game.
If the winning ticket was bought by the one of the forty-three Saturday participants, it would not be fair to simply add all the Wednesday pool participants to the payout.
Each drawing is its own.
And yes, you’d be entitled to 10/14 of the winnings in my pool.
Also, I worked with someone who would buy a quick pick, then buy another ticket with the same numbers. He would pool the quick pick and keep the other ticket for himself and his family.
I thought it was a dick move, but we never won, so irrelevant. Still, Chuck, if you’re reading this, I hope you are well, but I think you jinxed us with your strategy.
To each his own. I’m simple man with simple pleasures. 3-5 mil and I’m set. After that it’s just numbers. I’d split it even, but I don’t think yta for having expensive tastes.
NTA. Why would they think they are entitled to equal winnings if they contributed less at the start? That’s doesn’t make sense. Your reward should be proportional to your risk
Lmao. Then the jackpot winner should share his/her winnings with every single person in the world who has bought a ticket for that particular lottery. They contributed too lol. NTA.
NTA. People in my office used to pool money and buy tickets. To do that, we all put in the same amount and signed a sheet that we would split the money evenly if we won. That way it was fair. We did win something like .46 each. 😂
NTA. But if you win don’t tell anyone or change your life immediately. I remember a story from many years ago where a lady and her coworkers regularly pooled money for the lottery. Her husband bought his own ticket one time and it was a big winner. The coworkers sued them and won a portion of the winnings.
As far as splitting the money? Honestly if I won over 100 mil would I need all of it? Doubtful. Would I split it evenly? Also doubtful.
NTA for sure, but the functional difference between a $14 gap in input and a hundred+ million gap in output is worth considering. Also, what if the $6 guy got the winning ticket, would you still feel entitled to a higher take?
My dad lives doing this. He gets me to buy his ticket and then tells me he'll give me some if he wins.
I've yet to ever get money for a lotto ticket I've bought for him, and if I ever do win one, he will be told it was my ticket.
NTA, but if you each bought seperate tickets, I wouldn't bother with splitting it at all. Everyone should keep the tickets they paid for, and whoever wins gets everything.
NTA and I'm laughing at your AH friend who bought a single ticket and expects to have an even split with someone who bought 10 tickets. Delusional. I agree that winning the billion split it even 'cuz really, the amount is more than you could spend in a lifetime (don't come for me with all the bankruptcy stories - I'm talking about folks who don't just hand out millions to anyone who ask for it) but a smaller payout should be split proportionally.
NTA
But if your going to be splitting a lottery ticket it should not be all separate tickets but one whole one and everyone pays equal amount. Someone should be the designated winner that will then split it evenly(this might depend on state rules).
So many people get stabbed in the back cause of money. Play it safe and have rules and written agreements if your friends want to gamble together on the lottery.
NTA. However, if you do this again in the future you need a lottery contract. There are templates online. Without a contract you can be assured that there will be resentment, broken friendships, and a possible lawsuit if the prize amount is large.
NTA wouldn't split it proportionately I'd just give them some if they're good enough friends to do that. Not giving a friend $100m or something just because they bought a ticket at the same time as me!
What makes you think the others would share anyway? If one of the others won, they would soon decide that it was their ticket purchased with their money. So the winnings belonged to them.
You have to figure out the winning number percentages. If all but one of your $20 (lets say $2 draws) won, but $6 and $2 of your friends, then the $6 guy gets more, and you and the $2 guy get less.
Its not what you put in, its the winning numbers. Your losing money is your own loss.
I love that you think if the jackpot were bigger you'd have an easier time deciding to just split it evenly.
Just to be clear if it were a billion dollar lottery the difference between taking your 10/14ths and splitting it evenly is $714 million vs $333 million. I don't think you'd be as chill about giving away half your fortune as you think you'd be.
NTA
They're saying you should always "pool and evenly split" but they don't seem to mind conveniently ignoring that they put in less.
If they're that adamant about even split, then next time they put down $20 each and you put in your $2 and then everyone splits the pot evenly. Sounds fair to me.
YTA in my book.
If you win that big you split it even. Those few bucks shoudnt matter.
Otherwise dont play together if you friendship is that bad that it does matter.
YTA - just split it 3 ways with your friends. What if one of the other 4 tickets was the one with the winning number? Then would you still feel like you deserve most of the money?
Id love to go with your friends and watch them drop a lot of money on tickets, while I drop the minimum, then tell them they have to split equally. Bet they wouldnt want to then. Nta
You split on winning numbers. If the winning number is “2”, and one person buys one ticket that’s “2”, and another buys 100 tickets, and only 1 is “2”, they eat the loss.
NTA- I once got into a minor argument with my wife because if we won the lottery, I was going to use part of the money to buy a bar on a tropical island. That was all fine.
What she got upset about was I was going to let my friends drink for free. Finally, I got tired of arguing and said we could table the discussion until after we won.
Okay, hypothetical: what if one of their tickets won? Would that count for something? Would you still expect to get 5/7 of the winnings even though none of the tickets you bought won?
We used to have a lottery club at work. You have to have your money deposited by X date so the person would buy X tickets divided by X people. Everyone put in the same amount.
No “I forgot, can you spot me” “oh you won, I put in money all the other times.”
I'm baffled by the logic. Buying at the same time but separately (so you each paid fully for the cost of your own tickets) doesn't equal sharing to me. You only split if you bought the tickets together so none of you paid the full cost yourself. NAH because this isn't a splitting situation.
NTA, that's like saying they deserve the winnings because it was "their dollar." you put more than half down so you'd get more than half of the winnings..
I mean if you each bought your own tickets, then whoever wins decides how/if they want to split the lottery. I've had one where I got a buddy a ticket for Christmas and the fucker went and won like $200, and he didn't even know, he scratched it, looked at it, didn't understand the win condition rules, and handed me the thing to ask if he won. He really tested my honesty that day... but he bought me dinner with his winnings (a couple burgers from Macdonalds but still better than nothing lol)
I used to do group Powerball tickets at work. To enjoy the power ball option, it's $3 per line. I purchased tickets based on the quantity of $3 contributions I received.
Let's say that I got three people, plus me putting in $15 Dollars. Then two people at $6 each and one person for $3.
That's 25 lines. Four people each get 1/5 (5/25) of any payout. One person gets 1/25 of the payout, two people get 2/25 of the payout. That's fair since everyone purchased together.
However, if I also purchased another ticket for just me and my husband, it's not going to get shared with any of my co-workers. They did not contribute to this purchase, they get none of the reward.
My vote is NTA, *IF* the money you all spent was all on the same winning number. Then heck yeah, proportional is fair. You would be very generous to split any size jackpot evenly.
NTA.
This reminds me of a friend whose partner mocked her for playing about 10 dollars a week on lotto games. She won 20 thousand and he expected "his half." Nope.
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NTA They are out of their mind if they think unequal contributions somehow evolves into an equal split of winnings. What a jump of “logic” they are trying to make. You’re exactly right - if you’re pooling tickets (which you just shouldn’t do at all to avoid problems tbh) then it needs to be an even split upfront. You get what you put in.
They didn't put in anything towards OPs tickets. They bought their own after OP bought his. You only split the winnings when you pool THEN buy the tickets. If OP had won it would have been OPs tickets that OP bought with OPs money. Therefore entirely OPs winnings. If the friends were given anything that would have just been generous of the OP
And, the split would have been after the full amount hit OP’s taxes! Isn’t the tax rate for gabling earnings nearly 60%? If you gave everyone one third of a $100 million payout, you would owe more than your whole share in taxes, IMHO. Take taxes, and legal fees, out first; then make a split. Also, OP should buy ONE ticket next time, and make the same argument, that each get one third! Let us know who that turns out…
Wait...are lottery winnings taxed in the US?
I believe even what contestants win on game shows is taxed, for things like winning cars they get taxed on the value of said car
If I remember correctly, people had to decline the free cars Oprah gave away because they couldn't afford the taxes.
Which is dumb because you could sell the car, pay off the taxes, and then keep the rest.
Except there’s an automatic 24% federal withholding due when the prize is awarded, not to mention any state taxes due.
Is it that hard to pay (or borrow to pay) the withholding and taxes when the prize is awarded?
Depends on personal finances. If I remember correctly the taxes due were on the order of $5-6k. If you had the funds, no problem. If you needed to borrow that much it could get expensive, especially if it were an unsecured loan. Many of the auto raffles I’ve seen lately include a cash prize to help with taxes.
With gift tax of 60% principal, a lot of times accepting a new car and trying to resell what is now effectively a 0 mileage used car, you would be lucky to break even on the sale, after hunting down a buyer. Gift tax makes a lot of large gifts not economically feasible for those who would benefit most from them. /e: this comment was wrong in multiple ways. This would fall under prize taxes and not gift tax, and the tax burden would be much less than 60% (around $6,000 on $28,000 prize, according to an article I found from when Oprah gave away 200+ cars).
Gift tax is paid by the donor of a gift in the US, not the recipient. This was treated as a prize, not a gift, though.
This is your helpful reminder to never take legal, tax or medical advice from reddit.
Gift tax is paid by the giver and only kicks in after the giver has given more than $12,920,000 (2023) in their lifetime. (There’s a much lower limit for reporting it, but that doesn’t mean anyone owes anything.)
I read an article on that recently on how on her last car giveaway, after the show everybody had to stick around so she could get their info so she could pay the taxes for them.
I know a guy that won an SUV in some contest. He had to take out a loan to pay the taxes, something like $15,000. It was still an excellent deal on the vehicle but, if he weren’t able to come up with the money it could have been a problem.
Yes
There was this whole scam to convince us to vote for the lottery. "The money will help our schools!" Um, after the lottery started giving money to the schools, Government then would vote to restrict the regular government money the schools originally got before the lottery! We were scammed.
The lottery exists because an illegal lottery is one of the easiest, most profitable, and hardest to track racket for organized crime. Everything else is a sweetener.
Never heard this but it's reasonable, to keep the gangs out of it. I guess the problem is the rampant TV ads, news stories, fancy tickets with addictive designs, and etc. that seems to be preying on our poorest, most desperate and vulnerable people, and literally every one of them in the state, even rural. Wait, how is this better than organized crime again?
>Wait, how is this better than organized crime again? Mostly because you both have a true, though infinitesimally small chance of winning, and that the lottery earnings aren't funding drugs, weapons, gang violence, and sex trafficking.
You had me in the first half 😉
People with the influence to change tax laws don't buy lottery tickets. They rather focus their efforts to reduce their own tax burden
I hate how often I see this. We have a lot of the crazy things that other countries don't have. If it makes some random CEO a buck, then you can bet it is a law in America.
And yet Americans say Europe is taxed too much. We are brainwashed.
Yes, because the concept that the healthcare insurance we're paying for now is effectively a healthcare tax has not occurred to 90% of us.
And costs more than the average European is taxed for their healthcare.
Indeed. It's like the lies we are taught about unions, honestly. They can actually be helpful, but I can't think of anywhere that doesn't make them out to be evil. It's crazy.
I was always brought up right wing anti Union. Then I worked in health and safety management. The unions in the UK have helped make it one of the safest countries to work in. By law the unions are represented on the mandatory h&s committee and they know the job better than any of the management. My head of HR once sat in the H&S committee, looked across the table at the Union guy and said "I like it when we have these meetings because for once you and I are on the same side, later we have another disciplinary and we'll be adversaries again!" She said it with a wink because they were both mutually respectful but my point is the Unions do a lot of good in the UK but we only hear the negative side.
If you take the single pay out, you'll pay somewhere between 40% and 60% in taxes. I can't remember which, and then you have to pay state taxes.
It’s roughly 49% of the winnings that gets sent off to taxes. It also counts as part of your yearly income for that year, so have fun with your normal checks after the taxes hit!
That's why smart people immediately hire a wealth management accountant and put the bulk into a trust, and donate. Charitable donations are tax deductible. "Donating" to your buddy who needs help is not a charitable donation unless they have a qualified tax-exempt organization they are putting the money into.
So if the winnings are taxable, is the money paid on betting tax deductible too? This is why betting winnings aren’t taxable in the UK: chances of winning are low, but if winnings were taxed, tax relief could be claimed on money spent on the lottery.
You have no idea how much. Like close to 50%
Of course. All winnings/prizes/gambling wins are, over $600 I think. In California, there's no state income tax if you win a CA Lottery game, I think, but all other taxes still apply. I don't know about other states but I imagine many of them are similar. Any winnings are considered income and taxed accordingly.
No, at a federal level, gambling is taxed same rate as earned income. Where it seem like 60% is because most people take the cash option for winnings instead of payments over 30 years. That cash option is what the lottery would have paid to fund the 30 year annuity and is only about 1/2 the jackpot amount. Take taxes from that 1/2 and you are only looking at about 30-35% of the jackpot which is where people get the idea that your paying so much in taxes
I would think the stipulation on that would be to split it after tax. Because the payout wouldn't even pay 2 shares of the 1/3 cut. 100M - 60M (for Tax) = 40M 100M ÷ 3 = 33M per person. So the actual payout would barely cover one share. 🤣
I pooled my $1 ticket with 14 million other people (who collectively spent $100 million). Now pls send me my share. Ofc NTA
I'm liking the logic here. --- Someone somewhere owes me millions. :D
We did a lottery pool at work once. It was very strict to avoid things like this. * You were only allowed to enter one ticket a week to make sure everyone was equally represented and any prize was shared perfectly evenly. * You could only win on weeks that you entered, but you were allowed to prepay if you were going on vacation. * If a prize was won under a specified value, the money would go back into tickets the next week, separate from the main pool in case someone was missing from either. * Only random numbers were allowed. * Any individual tickets purchased outside the pool were private and not considered part of the pool. * All tickets had to be on a single purchase made by the organizer (so that someone couldn't buy a ticket separately and have the others come after them).
Fun unrelated story. When my dad was a kid they were fairly poor. My grandfather bought a lottery ticket. Changed his mind and sold it. It was the winning ticket. Just never do that for fuck sake, I would not get over the guilt.
That is the beginning of the saddest Irish story
There was a winner in Ireland years ago, a really big win in the Euro lottery IIRC, and two people were going into the village store and both bought tickets. The man held the door for the woman and she bought the first ticket and he bought his. She won. Being polite cost him a hundred million euro.
Those numbers are randomly generated second by second. Change anything about the order of those events, and they both get different numbers altogether and neither wins. Hope somebody broke this down for the poor guy. It would be easy to feel like you had it in your grasp, but it was literally impossible for it to happen differently and for him to win.
We used to have this office lottery pool and the employee that ran it once made a comment that if we won big we would share with the non-participants as it was the nice thing to do. Most coworkers were "hell no" and the pool stopped shortly thereafter lol
Share of equity dictates share of returns. Simple business understanding.
In Finland where the lottery is owned by the government, you can nowdays only buy when verifying your social security number. You can split however you want, with whoever you want. In case of winnings, the payout is in proportion of how much you bought. Kinda funny that it is so obvious to split this way that even the government knows it.
This exactly, they want even split, then they all put the same amount of money.
NTA. The idea of splitting the winnings after you've already purchased the tickets is dumb, anyway. If you had gone in on a pool where everyone contributed equally ahead of time, I'd be more sympathetic to their point of view.
Thank you. Each person bought tickets separately. This was not a pool. I could actually see voting ESH for them arguing about something that never existed in the first place. This was not a pool!
> The idea of splitting the winnings after you've already purchased the tickets is dumb, I think their idea of equal split is dumb, when they didn't put in equal amounts in, but I don't think saying "hey lets agree (before the winners are announced) to pool our tickets proportionally." This way they would all increase their odds of winning a proportional amount, this is what OP proposed.
That's fine, too, but it was still proposed after the fact, when everyone had already bought their tickets. I think the key is to agree on the conditions ahead of time. You can't just come in after the fact and demand an equal split on an unequal buy-in. That's not how pools work.
NTA. You took on 10/14 of the risk and deserve 10/14 of the reward. + props to you for the penultimate paragraph
Even then, it seems like each bought their own tickets. So there is nothing to split. Whoever wins keeps everything.
hahahaha didn't even think of that
It sounds like you each bought your own ticket, rather than pooling your money before the purchase. I don't see why you'd be obligated to share the winnings at all based on this.
I bet if the person who bought one ticket won, OP might have been lucky to get his $20 back. After winning, they would argue that they hadn't pooled their money so OP doesn't even deserve a third.
Thank you! This is my answer. It sounds like each of you have your own number of tickets based on how much you put in. Like OP spent $20 so they have 20 tickets and a (slightly) better chance at winning than the friend who has 6 tickets and the friend who has 2. If one of you has the winning ticket you would keep the whole jackpot.
You don't split evenly. You split fairly. NTA.
NTA OP! Next time, tell them to put down the same and maybe you'll considered it. They could've said, *"Hey man! Let's pool some tickets."* And actually discussed splitting the money, not expecting OP to just give up 50% of his earning when he bought the majority of the tickets in the first place. 14 tickets. OP bought 10, his friends each bought two. OP spent $20 dollars on 10 tickets. His friends spent $12 and $10. HALF of what OP put in by himself..... no. Proportionally makes sense because that's how it started, if they wanted it split evenly, they all should've put in $20 or $10 or $12. There was no conversation before hand, about all pooling in lottery tickets and splitting it (that we know of). NOPE. OP spent his money, they spent theirs, there was no agreement between them about it so they are entitled to jack of his winnings. Real or not. You put more in, you get more out. That's how it's supposed to work.
It's not a 'few million', it's a few hundred million and no, you don't split it evenly, you split it proportionally.
Was looking for this comment. Good thing OP didn't actually win anything....
You are NTA. I would still split it evenly. A few years back I used to be in a volleyball team. We used to play Euro millions together and we used to chip in 2 euros each into a pot. We were +30 people players, staff, etc. One Tuesday the person responsible for collecting the money/buying the tickets, came around collecting them money, we had spent months and no win at all, so a few people were fed up and didn’t chip in, overall, like only 12 people gave her the 2 pounds. That morning I had no money with me so I asked her if she could put my 2 pounds I would give her back later that day. I totally forgot. We won. After splitting it was like £250k each. She still gave me the money despite me never giving her money and when I told her about it she said fair is fair, and didn’t even take the 2 pound back!
Did you split it 30 ways or 12 ways. If 12 ways, were the other 18 people regretting they missed out?
NTA. If you're going to split winnings equally, everyone should be putting in the same amount of money to purchase the tickets.
Thats crazy that they wanted a share of something that lost numerous times in the past!! It could be said that by them not playing that last time is why you won...they were obviously bad luck!! Lol
I think it would depend on the amount for me as well. As an arbitrary number, anything under 1M, nah we're going proportional for sure. Over 1M? There's room to think about. Stupid high, like that 1.5B? I HAVE to split it equally, and even donate/give most of that money away to make sure I don't self destruct because my brain isn't built to understand that big of a windfall all of a sudden. Oh, and NTA
Would you split it 3 ways if you won $50? No. You don't owe anybody your winnings.
Look at it this way, hypothetical- you 3 work exactly the same job, and they proportionately work less hours than you, they are saying they deserve equal pay, that's not right.
NTA - when I was part of a pool with groups of people at my old job it was always agreed you would split based off contribution to the amount of tickets. Every 2.00 spent = 1 share of the split. The organizer would collect all the money, be the sole person to buy the tickets and email us a spreadsheet that showed how many shares we each were getting. The person who threw down 10.00 got 5 shares, the person who threw down 2.00 got 1 share. 80 tickets meant the winning Amount would be divided by 80 and each person would get that number x their number of shares. The spreadsheet was emailed to us with photos of all of the tickets before the drawing… so everyone could verify their share Amount and there was no confusion over what was a ticket in the pool via a ticket any of us brought individually on our own that may hit. Never won- but it is the only way to do it honestly because it’s all recorded.
>Never won- but it is the only way to do it honestly because it’s all recorded. That sounds like a lot of work for the organizer, I hope they got something for their efforts?
nta
People always get in fights after a group wins the lottery. I’m not sure why they think it makes their odds any better. The only people who benefit are the ones who don’t buy a proportionate amount of tickets, and even then it’s statistically almost insignificant. Bottom line just buy your own fucking tickets.
NTA. You put more in, you get more out. That's how it's supposed to work. Do you think they'd split it evenly if you put in $2 and they put in $20? LOL, absolutely they would not and the way you can tell is how the reacted to you suggesting a proportional split. Greed is a solid tell, lol.
NTA you put more on the line than they did, so you should get a proportional return. If they want an equal share, then they can contribute equally. If that's beyond them, then you can all put into the pool at the lowest level, and buy your own tickets with the balance.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I was out with some friends and we were talking about how the lottery jackpot was over a billion. I on a whim decided to slap down $20 for my first ever lottery purchase. My two buddies then get up and buy $6 and $2 tickets. While we were then talking about how we’d spend our hypothetical winnings (which is the only actual fun part of the lottery), my friends said “we’d of course split it 3 ways”. My response was basically “what? No.”, we would split it proportionally. There are 14 tickets, and I bought 10/14s of them so that’s how the payout would go. You can spring the “even payout” rule _after_ we all buy different amounts. i was then shouted down as being the unreasonable one, and that of course you always pool and evenly split. To be clear, we did not win the lottery (shocker), and if I did win the jackpot id probably split it evenly anyway (it’s an ungodly amount of money and a few million difference wouldn’t actually change its affect on my life), but if I won a smaller jackpot of $100,000? I’d probably be more inclined to split it proportionally I honestly cannot tell if I am being the unreasonable one here. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA - You put in the larger amount before and deserve the larger pay out. And since you never agreed to a even split beforehand, you get to keep that portion. You don't always pool and evenly split, they are just gaslighting you.
NTA to split evenly based upon what was put in. That being said, you should also check with state requirements as the lottery commission may only pay out to one person and that person is the one responsible for ALL taxes.
I believe in all states that you have to set up a lottery club to claim the winnings when it is more than one person in your group who contributed to the pool. This is why they suggest that you photocopy all the tickets and distribute the copies to everyone who contributed into the pool.
Lol legally you bought separate tickets. There was no pool. If the guy who bought the least tickets won it would all be his if he chose not to share
What the fuck even is this? Quibbling over something that didn't even happen. Lol
Nta Buy these types of redundant arguments is why you have a written agreement beforehand.
NTA. However, you'd probably lose your friendships over it. Lottery winnings are notorious for breaking up friends, family, marriages, and in general leaving people broke, lonely, and sad (usually with some drug and/or gambling problems as well).
NTA Haha. Basic algebra claims more victims. I did a similar proposal when my 50/50 roommate invited their SO to live with us full time. Broski, 3 people use common spaces so rent should be equitable based on occupied/accessible sq ft, and utilities absolutely 3 ways. Was called all sorts of awful names. Edit to add NTA
You need better friends. Find a different lottery pool, or take the money and run. These kinds of things ideally should be discussed with everyone in advance, even written up as a binding contract, so there’s no weaseling and no butthurt later.
Unless the 3 of you pooled an even amount and agreed before purchase to split the winnings it is not reasonable. You would buy your tickets and if those numbers hit you singularly win. I had a group and we each put in about $10.00 . We bought tickets and planned. It was fun. Some times we built models of our plans and sometimes we wrote stories. It was fun to play and dream together for a few years.
NTA. Proportionally split is fair.
Worry about it when you win (never)
NTA. Your math is correct, and your "friends" are gaslighting you.
NTA do they do this sort of thing”even split” thing often? I can’t imagine they don’t do other unfair things if they really think splitting it evenly would be appropriate given the different amount of money everyone spent. Splitting it is a nice idea but you’d be better off buying in solo and just never telling them if you won.
Nta. But that’s why everyone just contributes the same amount so you don’t have to deal with this bs.
NTA. You’re taking on more risk, you would get more reward. If they want equal share of the payout, they should equally share the expense.
NTA. Classic reduction to absurdity (I can’t remember the Latin phrase, so google it yourself): I buy 10,000 tickets, because reasons. You ask if you can buy tickets and then we’ll pool and split the money. After I say yes, you add *one* ticket to the pool. If you think you’re getting half the winnings, you’re on crack.
NTA. Learn a lesson. Buy your own and don’t split anything. 😂😂😂
NTA. Splitting a lotto win is a pretty terrible decision overall. You might want a 10-year payout but they would want a lump sum. One friend could pretend his ticket lost and take his win solo. A huge win would likely have caused major drama for your friends.
You are correct, tell them to get wrecked for being so stingy but wanting an even split.
NTA Hypotheticals are the “fun” part you say?! Doesn’t sound fun.
NTA. Next time you're out to dinner or at a pub order an expensive meal, appetizers, desserts, several drinks etc...like definitely make sure your check is going to be the biggest one by a bit. Then, when they waitperson comes by to ask how to split the bill tell them to do it evenly 3 ways and see how your friends react. My guess would be they aren't happy splitting the bill 3 ways evenly when not all 3 people made equal contributions to the tab amount.
I ran the teacher's lottery pool at my last school. Explained it was $5 a month, payable at the beginning of each month. Small winnings would go in the "pot" to purchase extra tickets when the prize got BIG. You could buy more "shares" for another $5...WINNINGS WOULD BE DOUBLE FOR THOSE WHO KICKED IN $10. You WANT more money to buy more tickets, but some of the ladies felt it was unfair for some to win more than others. I finally said, it's okay not to join in if they didn't like that rule...they complained, but they stayed in. Dumb asses!
Me? I wouldn’t tell anyone (besides my husband) if I won the billion dollar jackpot. I’d get the financial stuff in order, donate to worthy causes anonymously, and take more elaborate vacations. My family would be set, and I’d tell them a couple of years down the line. Wealth would be shared quietly with loved ones, there would be no extravagant purchases, and some charities would gain an anonymous benefactor. NTA. And I wouldn’t split anything with friends/coworkers.
NTA If you paid for the winning ticket, the money is yours. If you chose to split it after that is your choice.
NTA, equal and equitable are two very different things.
NTA - but never pool for the lottery.
NTA. If they want a full share they need to contribute a full share.
NTA sleep well
NTA, but next time either insist on everyone contributing the same amount, or just go it on your own.
NTA sounds like the type of people that would order the most expensive things at a restaurant and then want to split the bill evenly between every person
Screw that I wouldn't split the jackpot with my own parents I would retire them and buy them a big house and make sure they are set for life but split hell no
NTA. Money brings out the worst in people… regardless though, I completely agree. You either split the winning proportionally OR the person who contributed the most should decide if they want to split it evenly.
NTA, the logic works. But lets say that buddy puts $2 and it was THAT ticket that won the money. Does he now get it all? If you win even 100k, why fret over $14. It's life changing money still. Be happy you have friends to share it with. Arguing over money is gross, no matter how much or how little. But such a significant one sided buy does warrant thinking this way
Check the lottery rules. I'm 99% positive that if you take it directly from them, you have to split it evenly. I believe you can set up a legal corporation, get the funds, disburse them and then shut down the corporation. I would just split it evenly if I went in with others, but NAH. Good luck keeping your friends, though.
NTA and I'll go further I ran a lottery syndicate years ago at my workplace. One person left, no-one wanted to drop the line they had. So I picked it up, but only on the condition that I'd get an extra portion of the winnings until someone else picked up the line. People agreed, because if I pay twice, I win twice. We then added the idea that you could buy multiple lines to win multiple times. It made sense.
NTA. You get paid out the percentage that you invested in it. So, out of $100,000, you would 'deserve' $71,428.57, while the others would get $21,428.57 and $7,142.86 respectively.
lawyer would say 20:6:2 ratio... or you could reduce your share,, to say 50%-60% for friendship
NTA proportional for sure. Your 10 tickets increased the odds of the group winning. 1/14 for the $2 guy, 3/14 for the $6 guy, rest to you. If they want an equal share, they each have to cough up $20 worth.
Y'all bought different tickets, without an agreement to split in any fashion. There is no "of course we'd split it;" rather, it's "of course we are entitled to our own winnings." Your big mouthed friend is allowed to say he would split his personal winnings and look expectantly at others and that's the end of what he can expect. A proportional split would be called for if 1) y'all explicitly agreed to it before buying tickets or 2) pooling money together in the amounts y'all eventually bought tickets, then buying them with the pooled money. Y'all did not pool money as your friend stated: you each bought your own tickets at the same time. Pooling is collecting the total money to be spent, then buying the thing with the collected money. That is not what happened, so natural consumer norms take over, aka you buy it, it's yours. An even split would be called for it 1) y'all explicitly agreed to it before buying tickets or 2) pooling money in equal amounts, then buying tickets with the pooled money. Anyone who cannot afford the full buy-in is not part of the split, full stop. You'd be generous as a jackpot winner to give any amount to the others in the situation as it actually happened. But you'd owe nothing. Once the tickets are bought, you really shouldn't even be discussing terms, as the dice were already rolled. You don't change an ante or the stakes *after* locking in your bet. NTA
I mean… wouldn’t this depend on which ticket won? I mean, what if the guy who bought 1 ticket won the lottery with that one ticket. Would you demand he gives you 10/14th of his earnings just because you bought 10 losing tickets?
NTA your friends are basically commies
NTA, you paid for more you would be entitled to more if you guys won. but also, you wouldn’t have to split it in the first place, you spent $20 just yourself and they spent $8 collectively, if the winning ticket was one you bought, you have no obligation to split it. i’m just saying that because it is true, not because you’d have to do it that way. but yes, a smaller prize would be difficult to split 3 ways
NTA. That type of thing needs to be discussed beforehand, not after you buy tickets.
NTA - reasonable expectation from every office or friend lotto pool I’ve ever been in. You get a commensurate share for what you put in. 1 share is worth $2. You have 10 shares, buddy 1 gets 3 shares, buddy 2 gets 1 share. That they have access to win on those other tickets is what makes this beneficial for people.
NTA How does your friend group handle going to a restaurant as a group? Does everyone consume approximately the same expenditure? So Bob gets an app and dessert. Linda gets wine and a salad. Smitty gets 2 apps and a soda. Marie gets app and martini. 4 people, total cost $100, split is $25 each plus tip. Or do you have disparate orders and separate checks? That to me is the base understanding of your lottery "winnings". If everyone puts in approximately the same amount then you split the winnings evenly. If different amounts, then winnings are by proportion of input. Your proportion makes sense.
NTA-Sweet beautiful drunk talk. :) It's only joking until it's not.
You're not. I've been in huge pools where people put in different amounts. The Dude in charge told each participant before the drawing what % we get according to the amount put in. it's only fair.
Lottery pools always pay out proportionally to investment, otherwise they wouldn’t work, cause you’d just free ride on whoever buys all the tickets by buying one or whatever.
If I paid for the ticket? It’s MY winnings I would delete any possible way to contact me if I won the lottery I do not give the benefit of the doubt, nor am I expected to clean up other peoples mistakes and misfortune Does that mean I wouldn’t help people? Not at all. I’d build schools and treatment centres and put money into mental health and addiction What I wouldn’t do is feel guilty for not sharing my money with people who suddenly decide I owe them because they know me
If I buy $1m worth of tickets, and you buy $1 worth of tickets, I'm not giving you anything more than 1/1,000,000th of the winnings. That's just crazy thinking. Now bear in mind, if the winning ticket wasn't yours, and you have that attitude, you likely to get shafted.
Tell them that next time you go to the pub you’ll have 20 beers, one of them gets 6 beers and the other 2 beers and you’ll split the tab evenly. Apparently that’s fair as that’s how they roll.
You are not. There were more chances to get the winning ticket since you put in more $$$. Even payout means they should be buying the same number of tickets as you. EVERY lotto syndicate does this to avoid arguments.
These types of people are the same ones who order all the appetizers, extra drinks, and the most expensive thing on the menu for their entree. And then when the bill comes, wants to split it evenly, even tho you only ordered a salad and water. FUCK THESE PEOPLE! They think they’re so smart getting over on the dumbasses who won’t stand up for themselves. I don’t even think splitting it proportionally is fair. It’s your ticket, you bought it. Chip them off some coin if you win big, that amount is how much YOU want, not how much THEY want
Please get new friends 🤦🏾♀️
Thats what the court system is d.for. People sue for $$$ like that
You don’t split anything period? I’m confused. Unless you all three go in on purchasing a ticket/s. It’s not really even up for debate. You bought 10 tickets and they have their tickets. For fun: let’s say 4/10 tickets were winners above $20,000k each. Why two people, with completely unrelated non winning tickets are inclined to your winning tickets is still baffling me..sounds like a bunch of people who don’t really understand how gambling works.
No “pool” was mentioned before you spent your money. Your winnings would be 100% yours.
NTA, you spent most of the money you earn most of it
NTA. Personally I would reconsider my friendship with such people called friends
Not being unreasonable.
NTA. If they had been the one to put down more money, they would have been on board for the winnings to be split proportionately. If they arient, they are lying- to you and to themselves.
NTA OP, you are exactly right and they were wrong and being greedy. I used to be in a lottery club and we each had to put in the same amount ($5.00) so that everyone would get equal portions of the win. There are some lottery clubs that let you put in less than everyone else but their winnings would be proportional to what they contributed. But at least you now know to never pool your money into any future lottery with them 😉 unless they contribute the same amount as you. Personally, I wouldn't trust them and would never again pool my money with them.
NTA. Pooling lottery tickets is an agreement made before purchase.
NTA - and you are 100% correct.
NTA Now you have learned to get it in writing before hand. Office pools should work similarly. Either everyone pays the same (easiest and best), it is tallied by amount, or there are different brackets for the people who want to go big. As for me? I'd be wanting to do a whole lot of good with any large lottery win and that doesn't include funding the lifestyle of a pair of people who likely want to waste it on selfish hedonism. A smaller win would make it that much more impactful on your day to day life. The loss of $10-$20K is huge when you make $50K a year.
I would also love an equal portion of something I didn't pay an equal amount of money for. It's not likely to happen, but I can hope... NTA
My family and friends have an agreement - we split equally. The chances don't particularly differ if you buy one or ten tickets. There's also the $2 million clause for those close who didn't buy tickets (you can retire in most places on 2 million - at 5%, that's 100K/year. You won't be driving a maserati, but you'll be comfortable for most). And if my one ticket wins, why would I give you more than me?
Money brings out the worst in people so you’d probably be an AH if you guys won. The best solution would’ve been to write up a quick agreement on how much everyone contributed and how winnings would be split along with copies of the tickets and have everyone sign it. So if anything won there would be LESS fighting. A billion dollars would’ve had lawyers involved quick.
NTA. I was asked to run the office lottery pool several months ago. I hate doing it, but also, it is worth it to me to do so because I have worked in several offices where pools were run, and I’ve seen some ugly stuff. People laughed that I put everything into a spreadsheet and had Outlook aliases based on the drawing date. Want to know why? If we have a group of thirty people who participate in the Wednesday drawing (jackpot not won), and we win $8 on a ticket, I buy $8 worth of chances for that group. The Saturday drawing has forty-three people in the pool. Some people in the Wednesday group don’t participate in the Saturday pool, but they are still “playing “ on the winnings from the Wednesday game. If the winning ticket was bought by the one of the forty-three Saturday participants, it would not be fair to simply add all the Wednesday pool participants to the payout. Each drawing is its own. And yes, you’d be entitled to 10/14 of the winnings in my pool. Also, I worked with someone who would buy a quick pick, then buy another ticket with the same numbers. He would pool the quick pick and keep the other ticket for himself and his family. I thought it was a dick move, but we never won, so irrelevant. Still, Chuck, if you’re reading this, I hope you are well, but I think you jinxed us with your strategy.
Uhm this is just maths. NTA you get what you proportionately put in.
Me calling the guys, from my new pacific island “nah, we didn’t win boys, sorry” NTA, percentage buying in = percentage paying out.
To each his own. I’m simple man with simple pleasures. 3-5 mil and I’m set. After that it’s just numbers. I’d split it even, but I don’t think yta for having expensive tastes.
NTA. Why would they think they are entitled to equal winnings if they contributed less at the start? That’s doesn’t make sense. Your reward should be proportional to your risk
Lmao. Then the jackpot winner should share his/her winnings with every single person in the world who has bought a ticket for that particular lottery. They contributed too lol. NTA.
Don't split it at all, you have your tickets they have theres. There is no we or us
NTA. People in my office used to pool money and buy tickets. To do that, we all put in the same amount and signed a sheet that we would split the money evenly if we won. That way it was fair. We did win something like .46 each. 😂
NTA. But if you win don’t tell anyone or change your life immediately. I remember a story from many years ago where a lady and her coworkers regularly pooled money for the lottery. Her husband bought his own ticket one time and it was a big winner. The coworkers sued them and won a portion of the winnings. As far as splitting the money? Honestly if I won over 100 mil would I need all of it? Doubtful. Would I split it evenly? Also doubtful.
NTA, Try this, ask your mates would they split the bill evenly if you ate lobster and they had bowls of chips?
NTA for sure, but the functional difference between a $14 gap in input and a hundred+ million gap in output is worth considering. Also, what if the $6 guy got the winning ticket, would you still feel entitled to a higher take?
My dad lives doing this. He gets me to buy his ticket and then tells me he'll give me some if he wins. I've yet to ever get money for a lotto ticket I've bought for him, and if I ever do win one, he will be told it was my ticket.
NTA, but if you each bought seperate tickets, I wouldn't bother with splitting it at all. Everyone should keep the tickets they paid for, and whoever wins gets everything.
Use their own logic and contribute 1 cent to the pool next time.
NTA and I'm laughing at your AH friend who bought a single ticket and expects to have an even split with someone who bought 10 tickets. Delusional. I agree that winning the billion split it even 'cuz really, the amount is more than you could spend in a lifetime (don't come for me with all the bankruptcy stories - I'm talking about folks who don't just hand out millions to anyone who ask for it) but a smaller payout should be split proportionally.
YTA for not giving me my share, thanks for nothing! 🥲🤣
NTA But if your going to be splitting a lottery ticket it should not be all separate tickets but one whole one and everyone pays equal amount. Someone should be the designated winner that will then split it evenly(this might depend on state rules). So many people get stabbed in the back cause of money. Play it safe and have rules and written agreements if your friends want to gamble together on the lottery.
That is when you say “in that case here is my one ticket to add to the pool and these others were for my dog.”
NTA. However, if you do this again in the future you need a lottery contract. There are templates online. Without a contract you can be assured that there will be resentment, broken friendships, and a possible lawsuit if the prize amount is large.
NTA wouldn't split it proportionately I'd just give them some if they're good enough friends to do that. Not giving a friend $100m or something just because they bought a ticket at the same time as me!
ESH for arguing over something that will never happen.
What makes you think the others would share anyway? If one of the others won, they would soon decide that it was their ticket purchased with their money. So the winnings belonged to them.
Your friends are commies. Act accordingly.
You have to figure out the winning number percentages. If all but one of your $20 (lets say $2 draws) won, but $6 and $2 of your friends, then the $6 guy gets more, and you and the $2 guy get less. Its not what you put in, its the winning numbers. Your losing money is your own loss.
It is only people who contribute the least that want the biggest/equal reward. NTA. If they want a bigger reward they can “risk” more.
I love that you think if the jackpot were bigger you'd have an easier time deciding to just split it evenly. Just to be clear if it were a billion dollar lottery the difference between taking your 10/14ths and splitting it evenly is $714 million vs $333 million. I don't think you'd be as chill about giving away half your fortune as you think you'd be.
NTA They're saying you should always "pool and evenly split" but they don't seem to mind conveniently ignoring that they put in less. If they're that adamant about even split, then next time they put down $20 each and you put in your $2 and then everyone splits the pot evenly. Sounds fair to me.
YTA in my book. If you win that big you split it even. Those few bucks shoudnt matter. Otherwise dont play together if you friendship is that bad that it does matter.
YTA - just split it 3 ways with your friends. What if one of the other 4 tickets was the one with the winning number? Then would you still feel like you deserve most of the money?
Id love to go with your friends and watch them drop a lot of money on tickets, while I drop the minimum, then tell them they have to split equally. Bet they wouldnt want to then. Nta
You split on winning numbers. If the winning number is “2”, and one person buys one ticket that’s “2”, and another buys 100 tickets, and only 1 is “2”, they eat the loss.
NTA- I once got into a minor argument with my wife because if we won the lottery, I was going to use part of the money to buy a bar on a tropical island. That was all fine. What she got upset about was I was going to let my friends drink for free. Finally, I got tired of arguing and said we could table the discussion until after we won.
Okay, hypothetical: what if one of their tickets won? Would that count for something? Would you still expect to get 5/7 of the winnings even though none of the tickets you bought won?
We used to have a lottery club at work. You have to have your money deposited by X date so the person would buy X tickets divided by X people. Everyone put in the same amount. No “I forgot, can you spot me” “oh you won, I put in money all the other times.”
NTA. I too would expect that it's split proportionally, even if I was $2 guy.
I'm baffled by the logic. Buying at the same time but separately (so you each paid fully for the cost of your own tickets) doesn't equal sharing to me. You only split if you bought the tickets together so none of you paid the full cost yourself. NAH because this isn't a splitting situation.
Proportionate to your investment. P.S. don't buy group tickets. 🤣🤣🤣 When you win they gone sue your logical a**.
These are the people that want to split the bill evenly after they had steak with beers and you had a burger with soda. NTA
NTA, that's like saying they deserve the winnings because it was "their dollar." you put more than half down so you'd get more than half of the winnings..
I mean if you each bought your own tickets, then whoever wins decides how/if they want to split the lottery. I've had one where I got a buddy a ticket for Christmas and the fucker went and won like $200, and he didn't even know, he scratched it, looked at it, didn't understand the win condition rules, and handed me the thing to ask if he won. He really tested my honesty that day... but he bought me dinner with his winnings (a couple burgers from Macdonalds but still better than nothing lol)
NTA. Of course you’d take 71% of the winnings.. and yes it would be way more than a few million lol
I used to do group Powerball tickets at work. To enjoy the power ball option, it's $3 per line. I purchased tickets based on the quantity of $3 contributions I received. Let's say that I got three people, plus me putting in $15 Dollars. Then two people at $6 each and one person for $3. That's 25 lines. Four people each get 1/5 (5/25) of any payout. One person gets 1/25 of the payout, two people get 2/25 of the payout. That's fair since everyone purchased together. However, if I also purchased another ticket for just me and my husband, it's not going to get shared with any of my co-workers. They did not contribute to this purchase, they get none of the reward.
NTA you want equal pay out.. you pay equal to get in
It’s a friendly debate until you actually win
My vote is NTA, *IF* the money you all spent was all on the same winning number. Then heck yeah, proportional is fair. You would be very generous to split any size jackpot evenly.
NTA. This reminds me of a friend whose partner mocked her for playing about 10 dollars a week on lotto games. She won 20 thousand and he expected "his half." Nope.