Lanarkshire named as Scotland's luckiest area in Postcode Lottery

Lanarkshire is the luckiest area in Scotland for players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, according to research into winners’ statistics.

There have been 340 wins for residents in the 12 ML postal districts – covering Motherwell, Wishaw, Hamilton, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Shotts, Carluke, Larkhall, Strathaven, Lanark and Biggar – since the game launched in the UK in 2005.

It gives the area an average of 28.33 wins per postcode district, placing it eighth in the overall UK-wide table – which has the Preston-based PR postcode area top overall with 455 wins in its 11 districts.

Lanarkshire residents’ successes on the People’s Postcode Lottery include two five-figure wins just three weeks apart for players on two streets in Bellshill; while nine neighbours in Cleland each received a £30,000 jackpot last year when their ML1 address came up trumps.

Players sign up with their postcodes and pay £12 per month to be automatically entered into all draws, with winning postcodes being chosen at random each month and all participating players in the relevant postcode sharing the prize pot.

Analysis of winners’ data was carried out by gaming magazine 1337 Games, which divided the total number of Postcode Lottery wins in each part of the UK by the number of districts attached to each postcode.

Magazine spokesperson Emre Aksu said: “Whether it’s down to statistical probability, population demographics, or even just sheer chance, it is fascinating to see which postcodes are the luckiest.

“The postcodes are chosen using a random algorithm, which is used to make the outcome unpredictable; however, it’s interesting to see such a big difference in how often certain districts are drawn.”

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