NS&I have reported today that 2025 was another great year for Premium Bonds as holders received 71,722,056 prizes, worth £4,950,616,350.
This year also marked the 68th anniversary of ERNIE drawing the first Premium Bonds winners. The random number generator has been drawing numbers since June 1957, and over that period has drawn 803 million prizes with a total value of £39 billion.
ERNIE was hard at work in December, generating the highest number of winning Bond numbers for any month in 2025. Over 6.1 million prizes were drawn, worth £403,875,350, including the two £1 million jackpot winners who in December came from Norwich and Cornwall. One of December’s jackpot winners only purchased their winning Bond in February this year.
In the 31 years since the introduction of the £1 million jackpot prize in 1994, ERNIE has created 568 millionaires. Agent Million travelled far and wide to deliver the news to the 24 £1 million jackpot winners this year, including visits that spanned the length of Britain from North East Scotland, all the way to Cornwall. They made multiple visits to Norwich and Cumbria, which were this year’s jackpot hotspots, each home to two lucky winners who scooped the £1 million prize. The lowest holding this year to win the £1 million jackpot prize was £100 in March. This is the second lowest holding ever to win the jackpot, the lowest was £17 in July 2004.
In addition to the two £1 million jackpot prizes, there was also an average of 79 £100,000 prizes and 157 £50,000 prizes won per month. Amongst this year’s winners was an Outer London Bond holder who won a whopping £100,000 in March 2025 with a holding of only £14. They purchased their winning Bond in 1977. Another lucky winner won £50,000 in July with a holding of £71. They purchased their winning Bond in 1962. There were an incredible 27,133,342 £25 prizes issued this year.
Premium Bonds continue to be a popular way to save, with more than 470,000 people opening new Premium Bonds accounts this year. The average account balance for new customers in 2025 is £10,674.
Of the 470,660 new Premium Bonds accounts opened this year, 77,177 accounts were opened for under 16s. 2025 was a great year for young Premium Bonds holders, who won 1,329,681 prizes worth £91,674,575. This year, 22 children have won prizes ranging from £100,000 to the £1 million jackpot.
Overall, the total amount of eligible Premium Bonds held increased by more than £5.8 billion during the year, rising from £128,727,262,710 in January to £134,625,121,463 in December.
Reflecting on the year, Andrew Westhead, NS&I Retail Director, said: “2025 has been another outstanding year for Premium Bonds. As we marked the 68th anniversary of ERNIE drawing the first winners in June, it’s been great to see that Premium Bonds continue to bring excitement and opportunity to savers far and wide.
“From our long-standing Bond holders to our thousands of new customers, we’re proud that NS&I is trusted by millions of savers, and we’re looking forward to paying out millions more tax-free prizes in 2026.”
