Prize bond winners cash in on €7m so far this year

OVER €7 million has been paid out to prize bond winners so far this year as the value of prizes won has increased by 11% over the same period last year.

The Prize Bond Company paid out €7.1m to 72,000 prize bondholders across the country up to the end of last month.

There were more than 20,000 winners from Dublin, who shared almost €2m, with Cork and Galway the next luckiest counties with around 5,600 and 2,500 winners respectively.

Prize bond draws are held in An Post’s headquarters in the GPO in Dublin with a weekly jackpot of €20,000 and a monthly jackpot of €150,000. There are also 2,200 smaller prizes every week.

The Prize Bond Company chairman Michael O’Keefe said that all winnings were tax free.

“The increasing popularity of prize bonds in recent years as both a secure investment option and an ideal gift solution has led to a significant rise in the number and value of prizes being awarded to investors,” he said.

The amount invested in prize bonds has nearly doubled from around €270m in 1999 to €506m last year.

However, the description of prize bonds as an investment has proved controversial with financial experts who point out that there is no guaranteed return, just a chance of winning a prize.

According to the Prize Bond company, a person with €1,000 in prize bonds has a 4.3 to 1 chance of winning a cash prize in a 12 month period.

The minimum purchase is four units, which costs €25, and prize bonds can be cashed in at any time.