Prizes

How does it work?

The People's Postcode Lottery works in a slightly different way to other lotteries, but don't worry - it's easy to understand and simple to play!

Below are three sections which explain the main features of the lottery, click on the link to jump to that section.

• How do I win?
• Playing and purchasing tickets
• Glossary of terms
• Play for free


The main thing to remember is that you play with your postcode and for each 'ticket' that you play with your postcode gets one entry into any draw.

How do I win?

The Street Prize is the People's Postcode Lottery's weekly prize. Each week players in one postcode share £25,000 and all players in the postcode sector win cash prizes. Here's an example of how it works:

The highlighted street, Forest Road with the postcode AB1 2CD, is the winner of the People’s Postcode Lottery Street Prize. There are two players in the street, Mr Smith playing with one ticket and Mrs Jones playing with 2 tickets.

The system is simple – the prizes are split amongst tickets rather than players. If you have more than one ticket, you will win a greater share of any prize that hits your area!

In this scenario, prizes would be distributed as follow:

As there are three winning tickets, the £25,000 Street Prize is split into three equal parts.

2 Forest Road - Mr Smith plays with one ticket so he wins a third of the prize, £8,334

48 Forest Road – Mrs Jones plays with two tickets and wins two-thirds of the prize, £16,668

The yellow highlighted area is the postcode sector, AB1 2. So all players whose postcodes start with AB1 2 win a share of the weekly cash prizes. Again, the share of the prize is calculated by tickets rather than players, so people playing with two tickets will win twice as much as those playing with one.

Playing and purchasing tickets

Signing up to the People's Postcode Lottery is quick and simple - head on over to the registration page, and follow the instructions to fill in the form there.

Tickets cost £2 and payment is made in advance by Direct Debit. For example your payment for entry into a March draw will be made at the end of February. For specific details regarding draws and payment dates, take a look at our draw calendar.

If you win any prize, all funds will be paid directly into your account.

Glossary of terms

Ambassadors - public figures who present and endorse the People's Postcode Lottery and the charities that players raise funds for. Read about them all here.

Jumbo Points - a loyalty points scheme guaranteeing more money for players who have played for longer. As soon as you start playing, you accumulate Jumbo Points for the next 'Postcode Jumbo' and players with more points will win a greater share of the jumbo prize pot. Jumbo Points are reset after each Postcode Jumbo.

Postcode - whenever this is mentioned it means your full postcode, ie. AB1 2CD.

'Postcode Jumbo' - a special rollover event that takes place three times a year. In this event a guaranteed huge prize pot will be shared amongst players in one lucky postcode. Click here for articles about previous 'Postcode Jumbos' and keep your eye on the website for news about upcoming events.

Postcode sector - The first half of your postcode plus the next number. If your postcode is AB1 2CD, your postcode sector is AB1 2.

Street Prize - the weekly People's Postcode Lottery prize. Players in one postcode (eg AB1 2CD) win a share of £25,000 and players in the same sector (eg AB1 2) all win cash prizes.

Play for free

All players who sign up for the People's Postcode Lottery before May 18th can Play For Free throughout June.

Simply head along to the registration page, chose how many paid tickets you want to play with from July onwards, fill in your details and you'll be playing for free in June. For further details, find all the official rules on our terms and conditions page.