Every month, savers have the chance to win big prizes as the Premium Bonds winning numbers are announced. There are now 24 million people taking part in the government-backed savings scheme, with more than £127bn banked.
Premium bonds are an investment product from the National Savings and Investment (NS&I), which is owned by the government. Each month, millions of savers are entered into a prize draw to win cash prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million, with two millionaires made at every draw.
Every £1 entered has a 22,000-to-one chance of winning. The minimum investment is £25, while the maximum is £50,000.
These savings don’t accrue interest as with regular bank accounts, but are put up against a random digital prize picker called ‘Ernie’ – the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment.
The date of this month’s draw is Wednesday 1 October. The results of this draw are available a day later and released by the NS&I here.
What are the chances of winning?
There are many premium bond winners every month, but the actual chance of winning remains fairly low. Most people will never win a prize, meaning their investment will stay the same. However, the scheme is also risk-free, meaning money won’t be lost either.
Analysis by money expert Martin Lewis found that the ‘interest rate’ on premium bonds accounts is 4 per cent when all winnings are considered – but notes most people won’t see anything like this. Many savings accounts in the UK also offer a higher interest rate than this, which will be far more consistent.
The distribution of prizes changes slightly every month. Here were the results in January 2025:
- £1 million x 2
- £100,000 x 82
- £50,000 x 163
- £25,000 x 328
- £10,000 x 818
- £5,000 x 1,636
- £1,000 x 17,163
- £500 x 51,489
- £100 x 1,987,844
- £50 x 1,987,844
- £25 x 1,803,871
How to check if you’ve won
To check if you’ve won a prize on premium bonds, you can visit the NS&I checker on its website and enter your bond numbers.
There is also an NS&I app which allows savers to check results on the go.