# Prizebonds



## geegee (25 Dec 2004)

I have been "investing" in the above for some time now and have only won occasional paltry prizes. Compare this to Premium Bonds in the UK - I had a much smaller holding and won larger prizes more frequently - where the chances of winning are significantly reduced due to the sheer number of Bond Holders.

Any thoughts on this?


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## Protocol (25 Dec 2004)

*prize bond returns*

Interest rates higher in the UK, therefore more prizes.


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## ClubMan (26 Dec 2004)

*Re: prize bond returns*

*where the chances of winning are significantly reduced due to the sheer number of Bond Holders.*

According to the Prize Bonds FAQ the chances of a holder of €1,000 in _Prize Bonds_ winning some cash prize is 4.3 to 1 and the overall prize fund is calculated at 2.4% of the overall total fund. No such details seem to be published for the [broken link removed] though as far as I can see.  about _Prize Bonds_ as an "investment" option might also be of interest to you. Coincidentally, according to that topic the prize fund seems to have been 2.75% of the overall total fund in the past - perhaps this percentage tracks prevailing interest rates or something?


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## rainyday (26 Dec 2004)

*Re: prize bond returns*

Prize bonds aren't an investment. They are a gamble - you risk losing value of your money to inflation every day for the miniscule chance of winning a decent prize.


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## ClubMan (26 Dec 2004)

*Re: prize bond returns*

I put quotation marks around the word "investment" for a reason!   I always consider _Prize Bonds_ less of an investment and more of a ticket for a lottery that is refundable at its nominal (not real) value. No harm in having a small amount of your overall savings in them but I wouldn't put a significant proportion into them myself.


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## rogermure (26 Dec 2004)

*Re: prize bond returns*

An interesting thing happened recently. Some friends bought prize bonds and almost all of them won €75 prizes I mentioned this to my wife and she says that this has also happened in her work place. We are both going to sell our 30 year old collection of prize bonds and buy the new ones to get some new numbers as we have only won twice a total of € 300 tal on €2500 worth of prize bonds. perhaps we should buy some English prize bonds
roger


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## ClubMan (26 Dec 2004)

*Re: prize bond returns*

I suspect that this is purely down to chance. I bought some a few years ago and won a prize soon after. Then I won another prize just last month. Newer bonds have no more chance than older ones of winning prizes. However the chances of older bonds resulting in unclaimed prizes (due to changes in address etc. militating against notification of winnings) are presumably higher. That could be a factor in why older bonds are perceived to have less chance of winning? No harm in people checking the [broken link removed] in case they are missing out. Oh - and notifying the _Prize Bond Company_ of any change in address etc.


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## ballyb100 (1 Jan 2005)

*Re: prize bond returns*

I have had prize bonds (approx €1200) for many years and have never won anything!
I must be very unlucky.
They are hopeless even as agamble!


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## N0elC (4 Jan 2005)

*Re: prize bond returns*

Some one asked for the odds on winning with UK prize bonds.

Here they are:


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## GoodListener (5 Jan 2005)

My mother has prizebonds of which £100 are from the 60's and some £170 from the 70's which would have been a nice sum at the time. She has NEVER won a single prize. A friend of mine in the UK bought a few about 10 years ago and in the 1st 3 months won a prize each month that amounted to half of the value of the amount invested. Don't know if he won anything thereafter. I wouldn't touch them.


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## Silvera (8 Jan 2005)

*re: UK Premium Bonds*

Can Irish residents buy UK Premium Bonds ?

I had a quick look at their site and cannot see any reference to 'overseas buyers/holders' ??


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## endowed (15 Jan 2005)

*UK Premium Bonds*

Hi _Silvera_,

As far as I know, you must have a UK postal address as the bonds are posted out, so if you buy a Premium Bond in the UK and if an Irish address shows up, your money will be returned to you. At least this was the situation up to a few years ago, I’m not sure whether it has changed much since?


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