Premium Bonds and prize-linked savings vs tickets — product table plus expected prize income on a holding.
| Product | Country | Return / fund | Max prize | Odds / notes | vs savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Premium Bonds (NS&I) | United Kingdom | Prize fund rate set monthly by NS&I (often ~3–4% AER equivalent) | £1,000,000 per bond draw | Odds scale with holdings; published monthly | Stake never lost; median return below mean because big prizes skew the average |
| Prize-linked savings (US credit unions) | United States | Interest + prize pool funded from a slice of yield | Varies by program (often $10k–$100k+) | Program-specific; usually better than a scratch card EV, worse than the interest alone | Keep principal; prizes are taxable as gambling winnings in the US |
| Prize Bonds / PLS-style products (EU / AU variants) | Various | Varies — check the current prize fund / interest split | Product-specific | Published in product terms | Useful as a 'can't lose the stake' alternative to tickets — not a wealth engine |
Expected prize income on a holding (mean, not median):
Expected prizes per year: 360 — an effective interest rate equal to the prize fund rate on average, but paid as a lottery: most months nothing, sometimes more. Your stake is never lost.
Check the current prize fund rate on the provider's site. Full guides: the lottery you can't lose and UK Premium Bonds by the numbers.