December 7th 2024.
Could it possibly be you? That's the question on everyone's minds after two lucky UK residents became millionaires in December's Premium Bond prize draw. It seems like the scheme has become an even more attractive prospect now, especially for those who have been on the fence about investing in it.
So, who were the fortunate winners? One was from Kent and had £50,000 worth of bonds, while the other hailed from Cumbria and had invested £33,275. In total, a whopping £62 million was handed out among 20,791 high-value prizes. That's definitely a lot of money to go around.
Premium Bonds have gained popularity as a form of savings because instead of earning interest, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. It's a monthly draw, where the UK government's National Savings and Investments puts the unique number allocated to each £1 bond into a pool, and the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment system picks the winning numbers. The prizes range from £25 to a jaw-dropping £1 million.
But even though it's a random process, it seems like some Brits are winning more often than others. And the luckiest bunch seems to be residing in the southern part of England. According to research done by OLBG, which assessed the odds in each UK county based on previous winners' data from the Office for National Statistics, the residents of Essex seem to have the best chances of winning. They have a 3.84% probability of hitting the jackpot, with a whopping 11,000 winners in the past year, taking home a total of £33.6 million in prizes. Following closely behind are Kent and Hampshire & Isle of Wight, with 3.49% and 3.40% chances of winning, respectively.
Overall, the South East region has proven to be the most successful in terms of Premium Bond wins, with only one outlier, Devon, making it to the top 10. Surprisingly, Lincolnshire is the most northerly county to make it to the top 20, while Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland didn't have any representation in the list.
In case you were wondering, here's a list of the top 20 Premium Bonds hotspots and their chances of winning:
- Essex – 3.84%
- Kent – 3.49%
- Hampshire & Isle of Wight – 3.40%
- Surrey – 3.23%
- Outer London – 3.16%
- Inner London – 2.55%
- Hertfordshire – 2.55%
- Devon – 2.47%
- West Sussex – 2.33%
- Dorset – 2.07%
- Suffolk – 1.71%
- Buckinghamshire – 1.69%
- Lancashire – 1.61%
- Wiltshire – 1.52%
- Hereford and Worcester – 1.47%
- Cambridgeshire – 1.44%
- Derbyshire – 1.42%
- Gloucestershire – 1.41%
- Lincolnshire – 1.40%
- East Sussex – 1.40%
However, it's worth noting that the odds of winning are about to change soon. NS&I has announced that starting from December 2024, the average win rates will be reduced from 4.4% to 4.15%. This means that the chances of taking home one of the two monthly £1 million jackpots will also decrease. Currently, the odds of winning are 22,000 to 1 for each bond, but they will increase depending on how many bonds a customer has.
If you're wondering how to increase your chances of winning, the simple answer is to buy more bonds. However, there have been instances where people with small holdings of only £50 have won big. In fact, since 2020, 20 of the £100,000 prizes and 26 of the £50,000 prizes were won by people with holdings of £500 or less. And in the December 2023 draw, a lucky winner from Norwich bagged a £50,000 prize with a mere £5 investment.
Anna Bowes, the co-founder of Savings Champion, a website that helps people find the best savings rates, said, "The very fact that some people have won with a tiny amount will keep many invested. The risk to £500 earning no interest is maybe £25 a year – at current best buy rates. There will be people prepared to risk that for the chance of winning big – or indeed winning something at all."
So, if you have a story to share about your Premium Bond wins or losses, feel free to get in touch by emailing us. We'd love to hear from you. This article was first published on November 2, 2024, and since then, there have been many more winners and losers. Are you the next lucky winner? Only time will tell.
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