New research has revealed that Outer Hebrides (HS) is the luckiest postcode in the UK, based on winning statistics data from the People’s Postcode Lottery since January 2011.
The research by SolitaireBliss studied postcode data from lottery.co.uk to determine the luckiest places in Scotland, based on how many People’s Postcode Lottery wins have occurred per 100,000 people in each area.
The analysis revealed that Outer Hebrides (HS), is the luckiest postcode in Scotland and the UK.
With 34 total wins, this area has the highest number of wins per 100,000 people, 122.9, which is 130% higher than the UK national average and 72% higher than Scotland’s national average.
Outer Hebrides has one of the smallest population numbers out of any UK postcode.
With an estimated 27,663 residents, the area is second smallest behind Shetland, which ranks 90th place in the study.
101 residents of Berneray and North Uist, Outer Hebrides were the subject of a Channel 4 documentary after scooping a £3 million postcode lottery jackpot in 2020.
Perth (PH) sits in second place with 99.32 wins per 100,000, 86% above the UK national average and 39% higher than Scotland’s average.
Perth has 164 total wins compared to an estimated population of 165,118.
In April 2021, an 82 year-old granddad from Perth, Bob, won £30,000 for postcode PH2.
When asked about what he would spend it on, the first thing he said is a big Indian takeaway followed by a treat for the family.
Galashiels (TD) comes in third overall due to having 89.66 wins per 100,000, 68% higher than the UK average and 25% above Scotland’s national average, based on 101 wins to an estimated 112,644 population.
| Rank | Postcode | Area | Population (est.) | Wins | Wins per 100,000 |
| 1 | HS | Outer Hebrides | 27,663 | 34 | 122.9 |
| 2 | PH | Perth | 165,118 | 164 | 99.32 |
| 3 | TD | Galashiels | 112,644 | 101 | 89.66 |
| 4 | IV | Inverness | 228,056 | 197 | 86.38 |
| 5 | DG | Dumfries | 151,139 | 128 | 84.69 |
| 6 | KA | Kilmarnock | 370,877 | 304 | 81.96 |
| 7 | DD | Dundee | 280,568 | 223 | 79.48 |
| 8 | KW | Kirkwall | 53,132 | 41 | 77.16 |
| 9 | PA | Paisley | 321,350 | 227 | 70.63 |
| 10 | CA | Carlisle | 318,244 | 222 | 69.75 |
Inverness (IV) is the fourth luckiest Scottish postcode.
It has 86.38 wins per 100,000, based on 197 wins compared to an estimated population of 228,056, 62% higher than the UK national average and 21% higher than Scotland’s average.
Dumfries (DG) ranks fifth place, which earns its spot due to having 84.69 wins per 100,000 people, 59% greater than the UK national average and 18% above Scotland’s average, based on 128 wins with an estimated population of 151,139.
Ranked sixth luckiest in Scotland is Kilmarnock (KA).
Residents see around 81.96 wins per 100,000, based on 304 wins to an estimated population of 370,877.
The win rate is 53% higher than the UK national average and 15% higher than Scotland’s national average.
Dundee (DD) is seventh, with 79.48 wins per 100,000 people, which is 49% higher than the UK national average and 11% higher than Scotland’s national average.
Dundee has had 223 wins to date, with an estimated population of 280,568 residents.
Kirkwall (KW) is ranked eighth luckiest postcode.
With 41 wins to date compared to its estimated population of 53,132, Kirkwall has 77.16 wins per 100,000 people, 44% higher than the UK national average and 8% higher than the Scottish national average.
Paisley (PA) comes in ninth place, with 70.63 wins per 100,000, which is 32% higher than the national average, but 1% below Scotland’s average.
This is according to 227 wins to an estimated population of 321,350.
Carlisle (CA) is ranked the tenth luckiest Scottish postcode, with an estimated population of 318,244 and 222 postcode lottery wins.
This equals 69.75 wins per 100,000, greater than the UK national average by 31% but lower than Scotland’s average by 2%.
With six postcodes in the UK top ten, Scotland ranks as the luckiest country in the UK to win the Postcode Lottery.
At the other end of the scale, Shetland (ZE) is the unluckiest postcode in Scotland, after ranking last due to having only 12 wins with an estimated population of 23,086.
This is 51.97 wins per 100,000, which is 3% lower than the UK national average and 27% below Scotland’s average.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from SolitaireBliss said:
“Postcodelottery.co.uk claims that over two-thirds of Great Britain’s postcodes are playing.
“Winners are announced every day, so why do some areas have greater luck than others?
“Some reasons for this can be due to the number of players registered for each postcode, so nine entries for one postcode will have greater chances of winning the Postcode Millions prize than a single person entering their postcode alone.
“This does not apply for any other prizes though, so for those postcode sectors that have greater than average luck when it comes to winning the £30,000 prize, it is likely that there are more individual postcodes registered in the area than usually seen elsewhere in the UK.
“You have to be in it to win it.”
