Galway residents are among the luckiest holders of Prize Bonds, having won almost €570,000 in prizes last year.
This is according to the Prize Bond Company DAC, which said that 8,851 prizes coming to €569,950 were handed out to people in Galway holding Prize Bonds in 2018.
Prize Bonds are an Ireland State Savings product that allows bondholders to be entered into weekly draws with a top prize of €50,000.
An additional €1 million is up for grabs on the last draw of June and December, while other prizes in the weekly draw go to the value of €1,000, €500 and €50.
The programme is administered on behalf of the National Treasury Management Agency by the Prize Bond Company DAC which recently published its 2018 Annual Report.
According to the report the bonds continue to grow in popularity with an almost 8.0% increase in the overall value of the fund to over €3.4 billion last year, the highest in the 61-year history of the scheme.
The number of overall prizes awarded last year dipped by a quarter to 224,474, down from 302,064 in 2017.
The total value of prizes handed out in 2018 also declined by just under €5 million to €16.4m.
Since the launch of a new website last year roughly 8% of sales are now done online, while just over half still take place at the Post Office.
Customers are investing with confidence in this unique State Savings product,” said John Daly, Chairman of the Prize Bond Company, “and that is reflected in the figures released today.”
“Our new website has made repeat purchases online convenient for retail investment customers who are increasingly looking for digital platforms to view and manage their investments with State Savings.”
He added that “Being able to service Prize Bonds customers’ needs across a variety of channels, including the Post Office network, remains a key focus for the company in the year ahead”.
Founded in 1957, the Prize Bonds draw is Ireland’s longest running prize draw. The unit price of a Prize Bond is €6.25 with a minimum purchase of four units, at a total cost of €25.
