The UK counties with the highest odds of winning are premium bond hotspots

Premium Bonds are held by millions of people in the UK, but does living in a particular region increase your chances of winning?

Each month, the Premium Bonds prize draw awards millions of dollars in prizes, including two payouts of one million dollars to the fortunate jackpot winners.

One Premium Bond is worth one bond and one chance to win, according to the Premium Bonds prize draw system.

There is currently a 22,000 to one chance of winning a prize.

However, new research by OLBG . com has revealed that some UK regions have significantly more winners than others, even though statistically every Premium Bond has the same chance of winning.

We examine the UK regions with the highest number of Premium Bonds winners over the past 12 months, as well as the months and years with the highest Premium Bond performance.

Where in the United Kingdom are the most winners of Premium Bonds?

In the past 12 months, 10,263 residents of Essex, the UK county with the most recent Premium Bonds winners, have received prizes.

Together, Essex's Premium Bond winners have won over 301.2 million over the past 12 months. According to analysis, the county's Premium Bond holders have a 4 out of 44% chance of winning.

This will be due to a combination of statistics and chance.

Each bond has an equal chance of winning in the Premium Bonds prize draw, but your chances of being chosen at random increase with the amount of Premium Bonds you own.

You have 25 chances every month to be chosen for a prize, for instance, if you have the minimum investment of £25 in Premium Bonds. In the meantime, your chances of being selected will be 50,000 if you have the maximum investment of £50,000.

"No matter where in the country the holder lives, every Bond has an equal chance of winning a prize each month," an NSandI spokesperson told BFIA. We compare the winning numbers to eligible bonds after ERNIE generates them at random.

"It could be because there are more Bonds held in a particular region of the UK than in other regions if it appears that holders in that region win more prizes.

An independent check is conducted by the Government Actuary's Department every month to guarantee that the prize draw is completely random, according to the NS&I spokesperson.

Consequently, Essex is expected to lead the pack due to its high number of Premium Bond holders in comparison to other regions of the UK, as well as the addition of a healthy dose of good fortune to the mix.

With Kent coming in second, Hampshire third, and Surrey fourth, the Home Counties dominate the list of Premium Bonds winner hotspots.

It's interesting to note that, with the exception of Wales at number 11 and Lancashire at number 14, all twenty of the UK regions with the most recent Premium Bonds winners are in the south.

The 20 counties with the highest number of Premium Bonds winners over the previous 12 months are listed below.

Source: NS&I, with OLBG's analysis.

When do winners of Premium Bonds get announced?

Every month on the first working day, NS&I releases information about the most recent winners of high-value Premium Bond prizes.

The next day, NS&I's prize checker tool allows all Premium Bond holders to see if they won that month.

Checking to see if you have won is worthwhile because millions of Premium Bond prizes remain unclaimed.

How can I purchase Premium Bonds?

Purchasing Premium Bonds is very simple, and you can enter the monthly prize draw in a number of ways. Premium Bonds are available for purchase via the NS&I website, phone, or postal service.

To submit an application over the phone, give NS&I a call at 08085 007 007.

To apply via postal mail, print an application, fill it out, and send it back with a check made payable to NS&I. The NS&I website has the application form and additional instructions.

Premium Bonds can also be purchased as a kid's gift. Regardless of who purchased the bonds, the parent or guardian listed on the application controls them until the child turns sixteen.