Premium bonds have been around since just after the war and in the last 7 years it seems we’ve bought more premium bonds than in the previous 48 years!

According to the NS&I (National Savings & Investments) 87% of the bonds that won in its January 2011 draw were bought during the last decade.

Carolyn Monchouguy spokesperson for NS&I said ‘Because of increased popularity and sales in recent years, it’s not surprising that most of the winners are recent customers.’ She went on to say that lots of things have increased the popularity of premium bonds including the first £1million prize that was introduced in 1994, and then the increase in investment limit in 2003 from £20,000 to £30,000. She also thinks that the 50th anniversary publicity in 2006 helped increase peoples awareness of premium bonds.

Even though there have been more winners among recent purchasers, NS&I stress that each £1 bond purchased has an equal chance of winning due to ERNIE – the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment that they use. The odds for all bond numbers are 24,000 to 1.

Another factor that may have made it more likely that winners will be people who’ve bought during recent years is that until 1989 the minimum you could invest was just £10. Today the minimum is £100 so people tend to buy in larger quantities.

Although there are opportunities for investors to win big amounts, there are of course no guarantees and on one or two occasions NS&I has pulled its £1 million prizes due to low interest rates.

In fact, it may well be these low interest rates which is making people more likely to go for premium bonds in the first place. If savings accounts were paying good rates of interest people would be less likely to look to something offering zero interest but the chance to ‘win big’.

Andrew Hagger from Moneynet suggests that putting money into premium bonds should only be done after you’ve put money in ISAs and fixed interest products where you’ll guarantee you’ll get some interest back on your savings.