Redditor Refuses To Split Lottery Winnings Equally After Buying Majority Of Tickets, Sparks Heated Debate On Fairness And ‘Team Spirit’

This lottery debate is about to tear this friends apart.

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• May 18, 2024

Billion-dollar lottery jackpots spark more dreams than a field of shooting stars, and for one optimistic trio, it also sparked a heated debate that would challenge the very fabric of their friendship. 

Gather round, because this isn’t just a story about lottery tickets; it’s a mini-saga of economics and ethics, all rolled into one whimsical night out.

Our narrator (Original Poster), a first-time lottery player, felt a surge of wild optimism and slapped down a cool $20 on lottery tickets—because why not when there's a billion on the line? 

As fate would have it, OP’s companions also succumbed to the lottery fever, although with varying degrees of commitment—a $6 ticket here, a modest $2 slip there. 

The next step was an all-time favorite—the time-honored tradition of dreaming aloud about "what-ifs." Visions of yachts and private islands danced in their heads, but things got interesting when the question of how to divvy up the winnings came up.

The plot thickened, as it often did when money mixes with mates. "Evenly," said the friends. "Proportionally," countered OP while pointing out that they held 10 out of the 14 tickets—fair is fair, right? Well, not according to the friends.

The suggestion of a proportional split was met with cries of outrage. OP’s friends insisted that the unspoken rule of lottery pooling was an equal split, no matter the contribution.

Now, let’s not hang our hats on the suspense—no, they didn't win. Yet, the question lingered: was OP being unreasonable in their approach? Should lottery winnings really be divided equally among participants, irrespective of their investment?

The story in detail

OP and his friends got lottery tickets

While OP and his friends were discussing their hypothetical winnings, he made it clear that he will take the lion-share since he bought the most expensive ticket

OP wants to know if he was being unreasonable

Important edit

We gathered some reactions from the Reddit community:

“NTA. The idea of splitting the winnings after you've already purchased the tickets is dumb, anyway.”

“It sounds like you each bought your own ticket, rather than pooling your money before the purchase.”

“You are NTA. I would still split it evenly.”

This Redditor has been part of a pool in the past and they decided to share their experience

“People always get in fights after a group wins the lottery.”

“NTA. You put more in, you get more out. That's how it's supposed to work.”

“NTA you put more on the line than they did, so you should get a proportional return.”

“NTA - You put in the larger amount before and deserve the larger pay out.”

“Lol legally you bought separate tickets. There was no pool.”

“You need better friends. Find a different lottery pool, or take the money and run.”

Redditors overwhelmingly supported the notion that unequal contributions should not lead to equal splits in lottery winnings. To them, it was simple—OP took 10/14 of the risk which equaled 10/14 of the reward.

So, dear readers, what's your take on this lottery dilemma? Are you team ‘equal split’ or team ‘proportional sharing’? Let’s get your thoughts in the comments.

Jesse