Postcode Lottery Review

£3,000,000 Draw

To be clear, you can only win a share of the £3,000,000 monthly prize, you cannot win it all. The maximum amount that can be won by a single ticket is 10% of draw proceeds up to a maximum of £400,000.

You have to remember you share the prize by the number of your neighbours in the same postcode signed up to Postcode Lottery. We can do some basic maths to get an approximate probability:

Number of UK postcodes: 1,800,000
Number of UK postcodes included in Postcode Lottery: 60%
60% of 1,800,000 = 1,080,000
Per month you have a 1 in 1,080,000 chance of winning the jackpot

The £3,000,000 jackpot is divided by the number of neighbours in your postcode. This can vary widely, so let’s look at a few scenarios

We don’t know exact figures, however, the winners section on the Postcode Lottery website seems to suggest the average jackpot win is in the region of £100,000 - £200,000

£30,000 Draw

For the £30,000 draw you have the same probability of winning as you do the £3,000,000 draw. There’s just a couple of differences to the prize structure:

1. You don’t have to share the £30,000 with your neighbours. Every ticket will win £30,000 each.
2. There is a draw every Saturday and Sunday for £30,000. This means for your £12 per month you get approximately 8 chances (depending how the days of the month fall) to win £30,000. As there are approximately 1,080,000 postcodes in each draw this gives us 8 in 1,080,000 chance of winning or 1 in 135,000.

£1,000 Draw

Every day of the month 20 postcodes are selected to win £1,000. Again, like the £30,000 Draw, this is £1,000 for each ticket, it is not divided by the number of people playing in that postcode.

As there are approximately 1,080,000 postcodes in each draw, we have (20 * days in month) in 1,080,000 chance of winning. Let’s say we have 30 days in the month that would be 600 in 1,080,000 chance of winning. Or 1 in 1,800.

£20 Draw

Each Sunday 1,000 postcodes are selected with each player in that postcode winning £20. Let’s say there are 4 Sundays per month. That would make in (4 * 1,000) in 1,080,000 chance of winning, or, 4,000 in 1,080,000. That is a 1 in 270 chance of winning £20.

£10 Draw

Each Saturday 1,000 postcodes are selected with each player in that postcode winning £10. Let’s say there are 4 Saturdays per month. That would make in (4 * 1,000) in 1,080,000 chance of winning, or, 4,000 in 1,080,000. That is a 1 in 270 chance of winning £10.

Syndicates

The Postcode Lottery doesn’t offer an option for playing in a syndicate. Although it would be possible, it could perhaps be confusing to create a syndicate with multiple players from mutiple postcodes.

Scratchcards & Instant Wins

Postcode Lottery doesn’t offer any options for scratchcards or instant wins.

Good Causes

Although the Postcode Lottery isn’t particularly well-known for it’s contributions to good causes it actually is rather exceptional. The Postcode Lottery donates 32% of ticket sales to good causes - this is much better than the UK National Lottery (28%) and Health Lottery (20.3%).

Since it’s inception in 2005 the Postcode Lottery has donated over £500M (as of December 2019) to charities such as WWF, Dogs Trust, Woodland Trust and WaterAid.

Celebrity Endorsements

Due to their high profile good cause donations the Postcode Lottery has got some rather special celebrity endorsements:

1. Create an account using your postcode. You can purchase up to three tickets per postcode
2. You have to pay month by month. It’s £12 per month and only available using Direct Debit. You can cancel at any time but may have to wait a month for the cancellation to take effect.
3. Your postcode is automatically entered into every draw. There is a guaranteed winner in each draw as only postcodes entered are in the draw - it’s more of a raffle than a lottery
4. If you win, you’ll be notified by email or SMS. Or, if you’re a big winner you’ll get a personal visit to your postcode.

The Postcode Lottery doesn’t seem to offer any promo codes or regular offers. In our opinion this is a mistake. Lotteries such as the Health Lottery offering weekly promotions really makes things interesting.

	Average Jackpot	Odds Of Winning Jackpot	Value
	£300K*	1 in 1M	Low
	£10M*	1 in 45M	Average
	£5M*	1 in 10M	Good

* Approximate jackpots based on previous six months.

Want to understand how we calculate 'Value'? Read More

1.2 / 5

Write A Review

---

By John

Jun 27, 2023

Won more on scratchcards

Been playing this postcode lottery nearly 2years and won just £20 just after I started and I thought wow this looks good.But nought since I won more on premium bonds too.Well give it 3mpre goes then it's good riddance

By John

Jun 27, 2023

---

By DPS

Mar 09, 2023

Postcode Lottery has been good for me

Writing this again because I forgot to do the "star" rating on my previous one: Postcode Lottery has been good Whilst I totally disagree with the way this website displays the odds (COMPLETELY WRONG!!!) - I must say the Postcode Lottery has been good to me. I have won lots and lots of tenners. I have also won £1000 and also £4348.00 - so around £5500.00 in 3.5 years

By DPS

Mar 09, 2023

---

By DPS

Mar 09, 2023

Postcode Lottery has been good

Whilst I totally disagree with the way this website displays the odds (COMPLETELY WRONG!!!) - I must say the Postcode Lottery has been good to me. I have won lots and lots of tenners. I have also won £1000 and also £4348.00 - so around £5500.00 in 3.5 years.

By DPS

Mar 09, 2023

---

By MARK

Jan 15, 2023

NEVER WIN IN 3 YEARS WITH THE SAME NUMBERS

THE ARE A CON PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY BECAUSE IF I DID IN 3 YEARS I WOULD HAVE THOUSANDS OF POUNDS PLEASE PEOPLE DONT BET

By MARK

Jan 15, 2023

---

By louise

Dec 15, 2022

play any random postcode you like

We moved house last year and I phoned PCL to change my address. Turns out, you don't have to play the postcode you live at.... you can play any old postcode you want! I was asked if I wanted to keep my old postcode which came up a few times only with tenner wins in all the years we'd played it. New address no better really - one tenner in 18 months. How to identify a 'luckier' postcode though... hmm...

By louise

Dec 15, 2022

---

By Serena Holloway

Oct 19, 2022

Wins

It amazes me how many £10.00 wins my husband has won. It roughly the same amount every year. Reading this you may say your lucky. No. With these wins of £10.00 it never gets above ten pound. Something is fishy. Something is not right how these postcodes are pulled. Makes me question how winners are pulled for the big prizes. Some thing dosent makes sense. Just a thought for you post code lottery.

By Serena Holloway

Oct 19, 2022

---

By Seasidesteve

Aug 09, 2022

It's a con

Not the best start paying £30 a month haven't won diddly squat. Last time my postcode won was back in 2020 £10 blinking pound very disappointing

By Seasidesteve

Aug 09, 2022

---

By D.lawrence

Jun 15, 2022

Gone downhill

Where have the £10.00 & £20.00 weekend draws gone. NO NOTIFICATION. Now you can't even see the results daily. I don't want to put my postcode in to be told I have not won. I WANT TO SEE ALL THE POSTCODES THAT HAVE WON. WILL soon cancel my subscription

By D.lawrence

Jun 15, 2022

---

By Patrick Harnett

May 19, 2022

Odds of winning

The odds of winning at £10 month are supposed to be 77% according to postcode lottery spastics. So basically if I don’t win £10 in ten months bye bye postcode lottery. I used to have premium bonds will send it there at least you still keep your stake amount.

By Patrick Harnett

May 19, 2022

---

By Dean

May 18, 2022

People expect..

From reading the comments it sounds like people expect to sign up to this and then win a large amount of money. If only life were that simple! The postcodes are selected at random, you have just as much odds at winning as everyone else that holds a ticket but then if you don't understand that, it's probably the reason your on here complaining anyway!

By Dean

May 18, 2022

---

By Johnnie Jones

Apr 12, 2022

Waste of time

Easy to say waste of time when in 8 years I won 2X£10. Never seen a site without a single positive review. Check out my postcode RG22 ### drawn once in 3 years for the £1000, never in major draws and it's a massive area, highly populated.

By Johnnie Jones

Apr 12, 2022

---

By Sue Meredith

Feb 15, 2022

Waste Good Money

Gave up after over 4 years of playing every month. Even moved to a new postcode in the North West. Only received very few £10 wins....all pointless as it was costing me that amount to enter each month. I can't believe anyone wins, especially in the lower class areas. Have had more luck on the occasional scratch card! And at least I get to choose when I want to chance my luck! If you look at the odds of winning on any such lottery. You'll see the real winners are the organisers....as for the charities they allegedly support they're lucky to get any chance of receiving a fair amount. Purely minimal amount shared out to too many with their begging bowl out. Especially considering the administrative fees charities demand before helping charitable causes they are supposed to help.

By Sue Meredith

Feb 15, 2022

---

By Jennifer J

Feb 03, 2022

I have won

I live in a rural area and over 6 years or so, I won quite a few £10’s, then a year ago I won £2,000 with 2 tickets. Nothing since, but I was so pleased 😃

By Jennifer J

Feb 03, 2022

---

By L.Loughran

Feb 02, 2022

All negative reviews

Why are there no positives reviews where are the reviews from all the supposedly winners I don’t believe there are any real winners. Here is another negative I have contributed to this lottery since the beginning and have only won 5 x £10 wins. Someone here wrote the Midlands always gets lucky I live in the Midlands but have only been lucky with a £10 win I know it’s a lottery but for goodness shake up the machine it seems to me the machine is programmed to the north of the country

By L.Loughran

Feb 02, 2022

---

By A lord

Jan 19, 2022

Most won 10. Doing it 7 years

Odds off winning not good

By A lord

Jan 19, 2022

---

By Maureen parkes

Nov 24, 2021

10 quid

Done from the start , the very very odd 10 quid only amounts to a free go ,

By Maureen parkes

Nov 24, 2021

---

By Sylvia B

Oct 21, 2021

Winning

Been playing for around 12 year now and not even close, why do under privelaged areas post code never come out in the big draws, always areas that have money only saying.

By Sylvia B

Oct 21, 2021

---

By Gillian Picton

Aug 24, 2021

13 years old nothing

I'm hoping for a win due to family illness I play all the time I'm just hoping my post code will pull mine out I'm praying to god daily for this never would normally so please god look down on us at our most vulnerable time

By Gillian Picton

Aug 24, 2021

---

By Stan Rae

Jul 12, 2021

Do not waste your money

if you are thinking of entering the postcode lottery (save your money), I have been entered over 5 years and if you are lucky have 2 - 3 wins a year on the £10 at weekends draw, if you look at other postcodes it is about the same result for them . I phoned up the help line to cancel and asked how many people are entered in the same postcode as mine and they could not answer my question and also how many postcodes are there entered in the UK and again they could not give me an answer to my question which seems very strange when they ARE THE POSTCODE LOTTERY. I have now cancelled and I give to my local charity and not the the Post Code Lottery to sponsor a TV program, my experience is save your money or give to a local charity that spends it's funds on what they are set up for !

By Stan Rae

Jul 12, 2021

---

By Hewitson

Jun 14, 2021

Odds on winning

We live in the South East and I’ve yet to see anyone winning down this way or anywhere near us , we don’t mind supporting charities but it’s about time it came down this way .

By Hewitson

Jun 14, 2021

---

By Susan Boyle's boil

May 13, 2021

Would be better if things were explained er better

Their adverts are all about people winning "oh chuffin thurtee GGGrannnnnd, tha never wins oat" but neglect to tell you about the different bands of winnings, just makes it seem the prizes are random amounts, doesn't explicitly show there's a max limit to winnings per household, i never knew the max winnings were £400k per household. Also a £400k (£3 million) win with odds of 1 million+/1 you'd be far better with the Irish Lotto, £10 per month with that amount of chances to win versus playing multiple draws on the IL with whatever stake you want with far better winnings than the PPCL, i know what i'd rather

By Susan Boyle's boil

May 13, 2021

---

By Dermott

May 08, 2021

Not great

Thought I might have won something in 3 years.. £10 a month for 3 years and not won a thing

By Dermott

May 08, 2021

---

By Sally

Apr 06, 2021

Waste of money

Only any good in some areas. If you live in small area, waste of time! Only 5 houses here, bet I am am only one does this too! Never heard anyone getting more than £10

By Sally

Apr 06, 2021

---

By Amanda

Mar 14, 2021

Not won in a very long time

Initially we won a couple of times very quickly after we had signed up. Only tenners at a time. Now , we haven't won in a long time. Makes you wonder of it is all staged a bit. However, I'll keep playing as if I don't my postcode is bound to win, and that's how they've got you! Easy to set up and play though, no hassle just disappointing.

By Amanda

Mar 14, 2021

---

By Duped

Dec 17, 2020

Lossers

Around my area ex15 and surrounding areas I have found that the most people win is £10. Looking back over 5 years that some people have been signed up for are well and truly losers. Paid in, £600, won at most over those years is, £100 to £120. I am now going to research other areas of the Uk to see which areas are winning big. Needles to say I am stopping paying into the P C L.

By Duped

Dec 17, 2020

---

By Neil

Oct 20, 2020

Hey if your interested, then So am I

The only people that I can see that win this already have nice houses in a nice area, so why is it guys like us are only winning the odd £10 mmm feels like it's for the guys who have something and not us guys who have naff all.

By Neil

Oct 20, 2020

---

By pip

Sep 17, 2020

Lucky if you live in Birmingham and surrounding areas

When I first signed up around 4 years ago ,I was winning £10 on a regular basis, that soon came to end and haven't won anything for over a year, but my neighbour has £10 twice in the past 2 months, not me, how does that happen. Going to cancel mine.

By pip

Sep 17, 2020

---

By Lynda Gripton

Sep 17, 2020

Wins

Not good, NORTH WALES IS LEFT OUT. Mentioned it to them, a week later won a tenner !!!!??? Make of that what you will !!??

By Lynda Gripton

Sep 17, 2020

---

By Cliff

Aug 16, 2020

No one in our area

Was on this for nearly a year. Few £10 winners but no one in our postcodes won the £30k. Its more midlands and up North it seems. Needs to be more centralised.

By Cliff

Aug 16, 2020

---

By Briggs

Jul 19, 2020

Not the right area

Apparently, where I live is not a popular area.. Too far north... Pah

By Briggs

Jul 19, 2020

---

By Chezza

May 08, 2020

What about central areas of London

This lottery has hit certain country locations twice, either a mews or colder sack what about tower blocks London streets. It seems these have too many occupants so payouts could be expensive.

By Chezza

May 08, 2020

---

By Danny J

Apr 22, 2020

The jackpot needs increasing

They sponsor Emmerdale and are all over the TV at the momoment. They've obviously got loads of money so why is the jackpot so sh**?!

By Danny J

Apr 22, 2020

---

Review Disclaimer: These reviews are the subjective opinions of ComparetheLotto.com visitors and not of ComparetheLotto.com. See Terms for further details.