Premium Bonds top 20 winning areas in UK as one named most lucky

Premium Bonds figures have revealed which parts of the UK have had the best win rate over the past year. Analysts at OLBG compared NS&I data for prize winnings from the last 12 months up until the October 2024 draw to determine the top 20 luckiest areas.

Cambridgeshire made the list in 16th place, with a win rate of 1.44 percent. The county took home 4,131 prizes, with total winnings of almost £12.5million.

Essex emerged as the county with the highest win rate, at 3.84 percent, bagging the most prizes - 11,301 winnings worth a total of £33,579,000. Kent came in second place with a 3.49 percent win rate and 10,246 wins, totalling £29,431,000.

This was followed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight, with a 3.4 percent chance of winning, and 9,976 wins worth £30,959,000.

These were the top 20 counties:

1. Essex - 11,301 prizes - £33,579,000 - 3.84%
2. Kent - 10,246 prizes - £29,431,000 - 3.49%
3. Hampshire and Isle of Wight - 9,976 prizes - £30,959,000 - 3.40%
4. Surrey - 9,440 prizes - £28,811,000 - 3.23%
5. Outer London - 9,241 prizes - £29,804,000 - 3.16%
6. Inner London - 7,407 prizes - £20,329,000 - 2.55%
7. Hertfordshire - 7,403 prizes - £22,808,000 - 2.55%
8. Devon - 7,176 prizes - £21,987,000 - 2.47%
9. West Sussex - 6,750 prizes - £23,863,000 - 2.33%
10. Dorset - 5,990 prizes - £18,264,000 - 2.07%
11. Suffolk - 4,925 prizes - £14,602,000 - 1.71%
12. Buckinghamshire - 4,872 prizes - £14,379,000 - 1.69%
13. Lancashire - 4,631 prizes - £13,895,000 - 1.61%
14. Wiltshire - 4,359 prizes - £13,012,000 1.52%
15. Hereford and Worcester - 4,226 prizes - £11,812,000 - 1.47%
16. Cambridgeshire - 4,131 prizes - £12,481,000 - 1.44%
17. Derbyshire - 4,078 prizes - £12,413,000 - 1.42%
18. Gloucestershire - 4,041 prizes - £12,573,000 - 1.41%
19. Lincolnshire - 4,012 prizes - £10,852,000 - 1.40%
20. East Sussex - 4,011 prizes - £11,676,000 - 1.40%.

Each £1 Bond enters the monthly prize draw with an equal chance of being matched with a prize, which can range from £25 to £1million. The current prize fund rate is 4.4 percent, but this will drop to 4.15 percent from the December draw.

In other parts of the UK, Scotland had 11,327 prizes with total winnings amounting to some £33.7million, while holders in Wales had 5,393 wins, with £15.4million in total prize funds. Northern Ireland took home 2,735 prizes worth a total of £8.5million.

Savers can increase their chances of winning a prize by purchasing more Bonds, with a maximum holding limit of £50,000 in Premium Bonds. Many savers opt to reinvest their winnings into more Bonds, increasing their chances of future success.

Confusion arose for one saver who unexpectedly received a £400 payment from NS&I, leading them to inquire on platform X: "Received random payment of £400. Looks like it relates to a win in June/July. Same number Bond as one that reported as £100 win. Can you explain?"

NS&I clarified in their reply that "it is possible for the same Bond number to win in other prize draws, even if it's won before".