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Premium Bonds saver scoops £1million prize on their first EVER draw

Premium Bonds holder has started the new year with a bang after winning the biggest prize on offer on their first try. 

One of the coveted £1million jackpot prizes was won by a saver in Gloucestershire who holds the maximum £50,000. 

It was a true case of beginner’s luck for this winner, who purchased their winning bond in November 2024. January’s draw was the first one their bond was eligible for. 

The other £1million prize winner was based in Liverpool and had a holding of £37,025. They purchased their winning bond in March 2022. 

Other lucky winners scooped big prizes with tiny holdings in the first Premium Bonds prize draw of the year. 

Beginner's luck: A Premium Bonds holder based in Gloucestershire bagged a £1million prize on their bond's first draw

Beginner’s luck: A Premium Bonds holder based in Gloucestershire bagged a £1million prize on their bond’s first draw

One winner from Cornwall scooped £50,000 with a holding of just £100. They purchased their winning bond in March 2011. 

Meanwhile, another Premium Bonds holder based in North East Scotland also won £50,000 with a holding of £250 from a bond purchased in December 2013.

The likelihood of winning at least £50,000 with a £100 holding is one in 4.7million while the odds of winning this prize with a £250 holding are 1.8million to one, This is Money analysis reveals. 

The average holding of the £50,000 prize winners in this month’s draw was £37,851. 

In the January 2025 prize draw, a total of 5.9million prizes worth £429million were drawn.

Premium Bonds Winners

Prize Area Value of bond
£1,000,000 Liverpool £18,025
£1,000,000 Gloucestershire £17,480
£100,000 South West Wales £49,000
£100,000 Inner London £10,000
£100,000 South Yorkshire £5,000
£100,000 Inner London £15,000
£100,000 North Yorkshire £20,000
£100,000 Wales £10,000
More January 2025 winners

View list of January 2025 winners

In this month’s draw, the Premium Bonds prize fund rate – which represents the average return a Premium Bonds saver would get in a year – was 4 per cent. It was cut from 4.15 per cent in November.

A month before that, NS&I cut the prize fund rate from 4.4 per cent to 4.15 per cent.  

The two successive rate cuts mean the odds of winning a Premium Bonds prize are now 22,000 to one. In the November 2024 draw they stood at 21,000 to one.

Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, said: ‘We’re delighted to kick off 2025 by creating our first Premium Bonds millionaires of the year in Liverpool and Gloucestershire.’

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