Did you win in the March Premium Bonds draw?

If you're holding out for a big win, and the Lottery is letting you down, then you might still be in the money, because the Premium Bonds draw for March has been completed, and there are two new millionaires.

One of the millionaires is based in Leicester, for the third time this year, and another in Tyne and Wear.

The first millionaire winner is a man living in Leicestershire, who has a total of £25,075 invested in Premium Bonds, and bought the winning bond (number 176QW334158) in December 2010.

The second million pound winner is a man in Tyne and Wear, who only bought the winning bond (254MZ390454) eight months ago. It's the eighth time someone from the region has scooped the million pound prize - but the first time in the past 18 months.

Alun Williams, NS&I Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications, said: "While Leicestershire's excellent winning streak has continued, it is also fantastic that the jackpot winner from Tyne & Wear has only had the winning Bond invested for eight months. We hope that recent investors in Premium Bonds are inspired by this month's draw."

Prizes

This time round there were more than 2.3 million prizes - adding up to more than £67 million. It brings the overall total of all prizes ever awarded to £16.4 billion.

March breakdown of prizes
£1 million 2
£100,000 5
£50,000 12
£25,000 22
£10,000 53
£5,000 110
£1,000 1,352
£500 4,056
£100 18,503
£50 18,503
£25 2,267,978

You could still be a winner

Williams adds that even if you aren't a lucky winner this month, you may still be one of the many Premium Bond holders with an unclaimed prize. In Leicestershire, for example, there are more than 13,000 unclaimed prizes waiting - worth more than £500,000, including five prizes of £1,000.

Meanwhile in Tyne & Wear, there are almost 12,000 unclaimed prizes, worth £500,000 - including one worth £10,000.

If you haven't already checked, it's worth visiting the Premium Bonds prize checker on its website. Don't worry if you haven't checked for years - or even decades - as unlike the lottery there's no time limit for claiming prizes.

For the future it's well worth considering registering to have your prizes paid straight into your bank account - with email notification. If that doesn't appeal, you can download the prize checker app, which will let you check prizes every month (although it only goes back over the previous six months).

Your odds of winning a million on Premium Bonds is notoriously slight - at more than 29 billion to one per £1 bond. However, the odds of a smaller win are much better, and once you get down to the prizes under £1,000, the odds are pretty good. You have a 1 in almost 11 million chance of winning £500, one in around 2.5 million chance of winning £100, and one in 26,000 chance of winning £25. If you have £1,000 worth of bonds, and haven't checked in more than two years, then being averagely lucky should mean there's a prize of some sort waiting for you.

But what do you think? Are you expecting a big win on the Premium Bonds any month now, or are you unconvinced? Let us know in the comments.