NS&I admits Premium Bonds players can 'improve' their chances of winning

National Savings and Investments says there are ways to increase your chance of a Premium Bonds win. Premium Bonds players can boost their chances of playing by saving more and more, NS&I, which is backed by the Treasury, says.

Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, said earlier this month: “This year we celebrate thirty years since ERNIE drew our first ever millionaire. The total prize pot for May was more than £453 million with over 5.8 million prizes being drawn.”

He then added: "Each £1 Bond has an equal chance of winning so the more you save the more chances you have to win a tax-free prize.” NS&I spices up the draw by personifying its IT equipment – it calls it Ernie (Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment).

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In reality, it's a simple, audited, random number generator. The distribution of prizes changes each month. Giving his verdict on whether Premium Bonds are "worth it," Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis said: "This lottery-effect hooks you into the unlikely dream of bagging a million-pound prize.

"I often hear excited comments such as: "My friend wins £50 every few months!" Yet someone with £10,000 worth of bonds should win £350+ a year – that's £50 every few months.

"Don't just rely on your memory of what you won, though. The win effect means people remember the good months. Take a look and calculate what you're actually winning to see how it'd compare with top savings – and how good your luck has been."

You don’t get a Premium Bond interest rate like you would have with most savings products, instead they have an average rate of return. For every £1 bond, the odds of you winning a prize are 21,000 to one, so pretty slim. This translates to a “prize rate” of 4.4% (previously 4.65%).