A Premium Bonds prize draw winner has started the new year with a bang, claiming the biggest prize available on their first attempt. The £1 million jackpot from the Premium Bonds prize draw was claimed by a saver in Gloucestershire, who held the maximum £50,000 in bonds. This was a case of true beginner’s luck, as the winner had purchased their bond in November 2024, and January’s Premium Bonds prize draw was the first time their bond was eligible.
In addition to the Gloucestershire winner, another lucky individual from Liverpool took home a £1 million prize, with a holding of £37,025, purchased in March 2022. Other fortunate winners also celebrated big prizes with small bond holdings in the first Premium Bonds prize draw of 2025. A winner from Cornwall scooped £50,000 with just £100 in bonds, purchased in March 2011. Meanwhile, a North East Scotland-based winner, with a holding of £250 purchased in December 2013, also claimed £50,000.
The odds of winning £50,000 with a £100 holding in the Premium Bonds prize draw are one in 4.7 million, while with £250, it’s one in 1.8 million, according to This is Money’s analysis. The average holding of the £50,000 prize winners in this month’s Premium Bonds prize draw was £37,851.
In January 2025, a total of 5.9 million prizes worth £429 million were awarded in the Premium Bonds prize draw, with the prize fund rate set at 4 percent, down from 4.15 percent in November. The odds of winning a Premium Bonds prize draw are now 22,000 to one, following successive cuts to the prize fund rate.
NS&I’s Andrew Westhead expressed excitement, saying, “We’re delighted to kick off 2025 by creating our first Premium Bonds millionaires of the year in Liverpool and Gloucestershire.”
