How does the postcode lottery work?

There are billions of people around the world who try and predict the lottery numbers every single week, with things like Euromillions and Daily Millions being especially popular in the UK. One type of lottery that people can have a tendency to forget about, however, is the postcode lottery.

Do you remember the Winzum blog post we did exploring some of the biggest competitions of all time [some of the biggest competitions of all time]? Well, if you were to sum up all of the postcode lottery competitions that have taken place over the years these would absolutely have to be included. So, the postcode lottery, what is it and how does it work? Have a read to find out.

What is the postcode lottery?

In essence a postcode lottery is a type of subscription based lottery service with the main aim of raising funds for various different charity organisations. Members of the public sign up and pay a small subscription charge, and then a lot is drawn several times each month.

The idea for a postcode lottery actually originated in Holland with a company called Novamedia BV in 1989, however it didn’t take long for the concept to spread across Europe. Since its launch the company claims to have raised over €8 billion for charities all around the world.

Where does the postcode lottery take place?

The postcode lottery originated in Holland, but by now it can be played in several European countries, with it gaining particular popularity in the UK. Citizens living in Sweden and Germany can also enter postcode lotteries, however it is important to remember that each postcode lottery is separate.

Due to the increased popularity of the postcode lottery in these countries it is only a matter of time until it spreads to other places too!

How do you enter the postcode lottery?

In most cases contestants hoping to enter the postcode lottery will have to sign up to a subscription service, in which they will then pay a monthly fee in advance of the actual lottery draw. There are typically around 10 of these a month, so plenty of chances to win!

Furthermore, each entrant’s ticket is based on their postcode, hence the name postcode lottery. If two people enter from the same postcode and happen to win then they both get a prize. Nice!

Is there anything you can do to boost your chances of winning the postcode lottery?

Because the postcode lottery works using postcodes everyone has pretty much the same chance of winning, mainly because contestants cannot enter several times in order to increase their odds.

As a result there isn’t really that much you can do to boost your chance of winning the postcode lottery, however this doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to win!