They will cite the Government-backed National Lottery as an example of why the law needs changing.

The legal challenge will be launched by law firm Ross Harper and Murphy who have started a civil court action against pools company Littlewoods.

It will take the form of a debate in the Court of Session, scheduled to last two days.

Five ScottishPower workers based in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, lost out on a #2.3m jackpot when a coupon collector pocketed their stake money.

Stirling University student, Cameron Baxter, 27, was jailed for 30 months when he admitted defrauding them.

His sentence was reduced on appeal to 18 months.

The syndicate scrimped and scraped to raise #30,000 for a civil action in the Scottish Court of Session and lodged a writ against Littlewoods.

The Liverpool-based pools firm lodged a defence claiming it cannot be held liable in court for the debt because a person is unable to sue in court for a gambling debt.

Last night, Mr Cameron Fyfe, the lawyer leading the syndicate’s fight, said: “If they are successful with this plea, they will have done nothing but welch on this bet.

“We believe this statute – that you cannot sue for a gambling debt – is out of date and was introduced at a time when there were no legitimate bookmakers, pools companies, and certainly no National Lottery.

“What an outcry there would be if someone was unable to sue lottery organisers if they decided not to pay out on a winning ticket.”

The syndicate comprises Mr John Ferguson, Mr Gordon Turner, Mr Owen Kelly, Mr Richard Syme, and Mr Donald McVean.

Syndicate spokeswoman Mary Ferguson, wife of John Ferguson, said: “We feel that Littlewoods have blatantly cheated us.”

Littlewoods have maintained that coupon collectors work for the punter and not the pools firm.