The History of Irish Prize Bonds

From a 1956 Act of the Oireachtas to a modern online results checker — nearly seven decades of Prize Bonds.

1956 — The legislation

Prize Bonds were established under the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1956, introduced by then Minister for Finance Gerard Sweetman. It was one of the first major pieces of financial legislation of its era, creating a new kind of state savings product: instead of paying interest, holders would be entered into regular draws for tax-free cash prizes.

1957 — Bonds go on sale

Prize Bonds were first sold in March 1957, with the first draw following later that year. Under the original rules, the draw had to be held at the Bank of Ireland's headquarters on College Green in Dublin — because the Bank of Ireland, as the government's banker at the time, was the operator of the scheme on behalf of the Minister for Finance.

1989 — A new operator

After more than three decades under the Bank of Ireland's administration, the Minister for Finance awarded the contract to run the Prize Bond scheme to the newly formed Prize Bond Company Limited in 1989. This separated day-to-day running of the scheme from the state's banking arrangements, setting up the structure that, with the addition of the NTMA a year later, still underpins Prize Bonds today.

A consistent thread: tax-free from day one

Through every operational change — Bank of Ireland, then the Prize Bond Company, then the NTMA's oversight — one feature of Prize Bonds has stayed constant since 1957: prizes have always been paid out tax-free, with no DIRT, Income Tax, PRSI, or Capital Gains Tax due on winnings. That's been a defining part of the product's appeal for close to seven decades, long before "tax-free savings" became a common marketing phrase for other products.

1990 — The NTMA takes over

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) was established in 1990 and took over overall responsibility for the Prize Bond scheme, a role it still holds today. Day-to-day administration — sales, prize payments, and customer service — is handled by An Post through Ireland State Savings.

Today

Nearly 70 years after the first bonds went on sale, Prize Bonds remain one of Ireland's most recognisable savings products: weekly draws, a monthly €500,000 jackpot, and winnings that are still entirely tax-free. See How Prize Bonds Work for how the modern scheme operates, or browse the Draw Archive for recent results.

Sources: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1956; Prize Bonds Regulations, 1957 (S.I. No. 40/1957); NTMA and Prize Bond Company public records.