UK Towns With the Highest Number of Lottery Jackpot Winners

Lottery wins are not distributed evenly across the UK. While anyone can buy a ticket, certain towns and cities have historically produced more winners than others.

By looking at data from Lotto, EuroMillions, Set For Life, and the People’s Postcode Lottery, we can see which areas stand out for the number of jackpot winners, both in terms of overall volume and per capita results.

Birmingham – The Leading Centre for Jackpot Wins

Birmingham has produced the highest number of jackpot winners in the UK. Since the launch of the National Lottery in 1994, more than 205 millionaires have been created in the city through Lotto, EuroMillions, and other games.

With a large population and strong ticket sales, Birmingham has consistently ranked as the leading city for major wins.

Other Towns and Cities with High Volumes

Several other locations have also produced significant numbers of jackpot winners:

  • Belfast – around 174 millionaires
  • Glasgow – around 158 winners
  • Sheffield – around 150 winners
  • Newcastle and Liverpool – around 136 each
  • Manchester – around 133 winners
  • Cardiff – around 126 winners
  • Peterborough – around 119 winners
  • Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham – around 102 each

These figures highlight the areas where ticket sales and larger populations have combined to create higher volumes of winners.

A photo of a lottery ticket.

Per Capita Analysis – Towns That Stand Out

When results are adjusted for population size, smaller towns often stand out for their higher concentration of winners:

  • Romford, Watford and Motherwell each recorded at least one millionaire per fewer than 5,000 adults
  • Romford has one of the strongest ratios, with one major £50k+ win for every 755 adults

Other areas that perform strongly per capita include St Albans, Hull, Harrow and Durham. For £50,000+ prize wins specifically:

  • Galashiels (Scottish Borders): 1 in 864 adults
  • Cleveland (Yorkshire): 1 in 875 adults

These statistics show that smaller communities may have the potential to record proportionally higher win rates than large cities.

Postcode Lottery Trends

The People’s Postcode Lottery provides another perspective, as wins are tied to postcode districts rather than individual tickets:

  • Preston (PR), Lancashire – top performing area, averaging 47.64 wins across 11 postcode districts between 2011 and 2025
  • Other strong performers include Warrington, Blackpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Bolton, Croydon, Motherwell, Stoke-on-Trent and Blackburn
  • In Scotland, Motherwell ranks highly nationwide with 362 wins across 12 postcode districts

This shows how postcode-based draws concentrate prizes within particular neighbourhoods.

A photo of numbered lottery balls.

Notable Individual Winners

Individual stories bring the data to life:

  • Les Scadding, from Newport in Wales, won £45.5 million on EuroMillions in 2009, one of the largest UK wins at the time
  • Michael Carroll, from Swaffham in Norfolk, became a Lotto millionaire at age 19 in 2002 with a £9.7 million prize

These cases highlight the scale of prizes that have been awarded in different communities.

The Bottom Line

The distribution of jackpot winners across the UK highlights interesting historical patterns, with Birmingham leading in overall numbers and towns like Romford and Galashiels showing high concentrations when population size is taken into account.

Postcode-based lotteries add another perspective, with areas such as Preston and Motherwell recording frequent community-level wins. However, it is important to note that location does not affect an individual’s chances of winning.

Every ticket has the same probability of success regardless of where it is purchased, and the figures simply reflect historical outcomes rather than any inherent advantage tied to geography.

*All values (Bet Levels, Maximum Wins, etc.) mentioned in relation to this game are subject to change at any time. Game features mentioned may not be available in some jurisdictions.

**The information provided in this blog is intended for educational purposes and should not be construed as betting advice or a guarantee of success. Always gamble responsibly.