NS&I luckiest regions for winning Premium Bonds prizes

A list of the luckiest regions for winning Premium Bonds prizes has been unveiled by NS&I showing that those firstly in the South West, and then in the East Midlands, win more Premium Bonds prizes of £1,000 or more, than the rest of the UK.

Ranking as third luckiest was Wales, while the North East of England emerged as the least lucky of all the regions.

Luckiest regions across Great Britain

Ranking - Region
1 South West
2 East Midlands
3 Wales
4 South East
5 Scotland
6 Yorkshire & The Humber
7 West Midlands
8 North West
9 East
10 London
11 North East

*Based on the total prize value per million Bonds held in each region, calculated only on prizes £1,000 and over

Sally Swait, Premium Bonds manager at NS&I commented: "Each month ERNIE randomly generates the winning Premium Bonds numbers from his home in Blackpool, where all eligible Bonds - regardless of their age - have an equal chance of winning.

"The last year has seen the South West region receive the greatest luck in having their numbers come up, though all other regions were not without their own significant wins. As the numbers are generated randomly each month, we may very well see a change in the rankings of the luckiest regions in the UK next year!"

Lucky regions fail to claim all their prizes

There are currently over 599,000 unclaimed Premium Bonds prizes across the UK, worth over £35 million.

The good news is that there is no time limit for claiming prizes. Premium Bonds investors can check to see if they have won by visiting nsandi.com and using the Premium Bonds prize checker or writing in to NS&I.

Premium Bonds facts

Premium Bonds are an investment where, instead of interest payments, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. They were officially launched by Harold Macmillan, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his 1956 budget.

At the end of June 2009, over 23 million people had a total of over £40 billion invested in Premium Bonds. There are currently over one million tax- free prizes from £25 to £1 million being won each month.