York City Knights Rugby League Club fans are being urged to sign up a friend - or ten - for the Lancealotto before the big kick-off on June 9.

Members of the scheme get five chances to win one of four weekly prizes - from £50 to £300 - every week, and are also entered into a pot to win an annual £5,000 jackpot.

Around 675 have signed up to date but the Knights are hoping to at least double that by launch day to hit 1,500 - half of the 3,000 limit.

Co-ordinator Claire Guildford said: "We're hoping to get 1,500 by the first draw, so what we are trying to do is get everyone who has joined to sign a friend up and that will pretty much take us there.

"There's been a good flow of applications coming through and everyone seems to be quite interested in it.

"It's just a case now of getting people in as soon as possible - we don't want to be processing loads of admin on the Thursday before the draw."

New members can still join after the initial draw, but will obviously be unable to win anything until they do.

Anyone who thinks they can do better than getting one friend on board can aim for ten or more - and become an agent.

Said Guildford: "We also need agents and collectors. People are not really sure about what being an agent involves.

"We are saying that as an agent all you need to do is find at least ten people who want to join. They don't necessarily have to pay every week - they can pay by standing order or credit card or by cheque."

All prizes are paid out directly to members based on membership details so there's no checking involved.

As well as commission on the members they get signed up, agents can get special discounts on local services, effectively jump the queue for tickets for big games with priority and get complimentary tickets for various games.

All profits from the lottery go straight back into the club to fund everything from first team training and the academy set-up to schools and community development schemes.

To find out more about Lancealotto, log onto www.yorkcityknights.co.uk or call the club on 01904 758234.

Updated: 09:00 Friday, May 26, 2006