Premium Bonds: NS&I explains how to ‘increase your chances of winning’ as July prize drawn

Martin Lewis details how Premium Bonds odds work for savers

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Premium Bonds are a popular method of saving which also allow Britons to be in with a chance to win big. The option is offered by NS&I, the Government-backed savings institution which has operated for a number of decades. Any money saved with NS&I is 100 percent guaranteed should the worst happen, as the provider is backed by the Treasury.

Premium Bonds create two lucky millionaires each month, as well as a whole host of other fortunate winners.

This month’s millionaires were two men from County Durham and East Riding of Yorkshire, respectfully.

The first had £20,025 invested in Premium Bonds, while the other had a holding of £50,000. 

The minimum holding in Premium Bonds is currently £25, while Britons can hold up to £50,000 should they so wish.

Of course, the main aim of those holding Premium Bonds is to win, and as much as possible.

For those who are disappointed, then, NS&I has offered guidance.

Some have expressed their belief that buying Premium Bonds in a sequence might be the secret to increasing a chance of a win.

But NS&I has said this is not the case, stating: “The machine we use to generate the numbers for each prize draw—ERNIE—generates numbers completely at random, which are then matched to our database of eligible Bonds to determine the winners.

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“Since no Bonds are actually entered into ERNIE, it doesn’t ‘know’ anything about the Bonds themselves, such as whether the Bond number is part of a sequence of numbers or not.”

In a similar vein, some believe having the maximum holding of £50,000 could be their only shot at clinching the top prize.

But again, NS&I dispelled these fears, relaying details about former winners.

The institution even said one winner of the £1million jackpot had a holding of a mere £17 in Premium Bonds.

So, for those asking how the increase the chances of winning, there is one key issue to bear in mind.

NS&I has said: “The more Bonds you hold, the better your chances of winning.”

This is due to the fact the process operates on a lottery bond system.

People can purchase £1 bonds and each has an equal chance of winning, meaning the more a person buys, the more their chances will improve. 

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Recently, due to the COVID-19 crisis and financial fallout, NS&I has made changes to the Premium Bonds process.

The prize rate fund, which covers the prizes issued every month, was slashed back at the end of 2020 from 1.4 to one percent.

As a result, each Bond now has a one in 34,500 chance of winning any prize.

This is in comparison to the one in 24,500 chance a Bond had of winning in the November 2020 draw – which was the last to take place before the cut.

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