Declining interest of savers in prize bonds

While prize bonds worth Tk 99 crore 30 lakh were sold in fiscal year 2024-25, sales in fiscal year 2025-26 were Tk 77 crore 90 lakh. At the same time, net sales fell from Tk 32 crore 40 lakh to Tk 21 crore 50 lakh.

The report shows that in fiscal year 2025-26, Tk 56 crore 50 lakh was paid as the principal amount of prize bonds and Tk 28 crore 20 lakh as lottery prizes. In total, Tk 84 crore 70 lakh was paid, which is Tk 6 crore 80 lakh more than total sales. The government had to supply this money from other sources.

Currently, prize bonds of Tk 100 denomination are in circulation. No interest or fixed profit is paid on them; prizes are awarded through a lottery every three months. Across 46 series, each draw has total prizes of Tk 16 lakh 25 thousand. A 20 percent income tax is deducted from the prize money.

An official of the central bank said that because there is no longer as much publicity about prize bonds as before, familiarity with them among the new generation has decreased. Moreover, since banks and other institutions offer various savings instruments, customers are leaning more toward those.

To increase the appeal of prize bonds, those concerned have proposed considering the introduction of new bonds of Tk 500 and Tk 1,000 denominations, publicity about their benefits, and reducing or withdrawing tax on prize money.