THOUSANDS of Bolton workers who play the National Lottery in syndicates risk losing out if they do not have written agreements in place.

Legal experts are warning that members face disappointment unless a formal contract is signed.

Families of ticket holders are also at risk of financial ruin, due to rules on inheritance tax.

John Brooke, a partner at Manchester law firm John Hardman, said: "There are a growing number of cases that illustrate what can go wrong when colleagues join together to win money on the lottery, and so it is important that syndicates are set up properly and have a written agreement in place.

"This may all seem a little serious for something that we do for a bit of fun, but it needn't be.

"An agreement is easily downloadable from the National Lottery website and only takes five minutes to complete."

Unity, the Bolton-based chartered accountant and business advisors, has a 24-strong syndicate for the National Lottery.

The syndicate, which has been running for five years, has recently put a written agreement in place.

Louise Higginson the syndicate manager said: "We all dream about winning the lottery and for the sake of five minutes, it would be stupid not to put an agreement in place. Can you image the euphoria of winning millions, followed by the devastation of months of legal proceedings because someone has run off with all the money?"

Paul Draper, tax partner at Unity added: "If an agreement isnt in place, the ticket holders family will be liable for inheritance tax on the whole win if the ticket holder dies within seven years.

"This is because the money given to the other syndicate members will be seen as a gift.

"Clearly this is not good news, as they will be paying tax on money they never had."