One town in Scotland has been named the luckiest in the whole of the UK, according to new research.
Kirkwall in Orkney was found to have a much better win rate than other British towns, while Scottish locations were also discovered to be disproportionately fortunate in the study, which was conducted by Paddy Power Bingo.
Deep diving into the results of millions of individual games of online bingo played by Paddy Power customers, the Orkney town was highlighted as boasting a 31%-win rate.
The impressive win ratio was almost 50% higher than that of any other UK town or city.
The closest towns to Kirkwall were Lymington in Hampshire and Isleworth in London which both had a 21% win rate.
Paddy Power Bingo punters may want to move to Scotland for some luck, as four Scottish towns feature in the top 10 luckiest locations – massively outperforming Wales, with Maesteg in Bridgend the only Welsh representative within the list.
Other Scottish towns included Dingwall, Larkhall and Lockerbie.
Top 10 UK towns by win rate
| Rank |
Town/city |
Country |
Win percentage |
| 1 |
Kirkwall, Orkney |
Scotland |
31% |
| 2 |
Lymington, Hampshire |
England |
21% |
| 3 |
Isleworth, London |
England |
21% |
| 4 |
Melksham, Wiltshire |
England |
20% |
| 5 |
Dingwall, Highland |
Scotland |
20% |
| 6 |
Larkhall, South Lanarkshire |
Scotland |
20% |
| 7 |
Lockerbie, Dumfries, and Galloway |
Scotland |
20% |
| 8 |
Wetherby, West Yorkshire |
England |
20% |
| 9 |
Maesteg, Bridgend |
Wales |
19% |
| 10 |
Wadebridge, Cornwall |
England |
19% |
However, while Scots are regularly celebrating a win, when it comes to the top 10 for amounts won, there are no representatives from north of the border.
The English, despite winning less frequently, benefit from much larger pay-outs, with nine English towns ranking amongst the best for average payout per game.
Top 10 towns by average payout:
| Rank |
Town/city |
Country |
| 1 |
Ruthin, Denbighshire |
Wales |
| 2 |
Hebden bridge, West Yorkshire |
England |
| 3 |
Longfield, Kent |
England |
| 4 |
Ashbourne, Derbyshire |
England |
| 5 |
Pulborough, West Sussex |
England |
| 6 |
Bodmin, Cornwall |
England |
| 7 |
Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire |
England |
| 8 |
Shefford, Bedfordshire |
England |
| 9 |
Surbiton, London |
England |
| 10 |
Esher, Surrey |
England |
The largest-ever individual win occurred in Doncaster, with one extremely lucky punter earning a whopping £20,570 from one game.
Wins over £1,000:
| Rank |
Town/city |
Country |
Number of wins over £1,000 |
| 1 |
London |
England |
162 |
| 2 |
Coventry |
England |
110 |
| 3 |
Leicester |
England |
70 |
| 4 |
Manchester |
England |
65 |
| 5 |
Romford, Essex |
England |
47 |
| 6 |
Haverhill, Suffolk |
England |
44 |
| 7 |
Liverpool |
England |
40 |
| 8 |
Bristol |
England |
39 |
| 9 |
Glasgow |
Scotland |
39 |
| 10 |
Stockport |
England |
36 |
A spokesperson for Paddy Power Bingo said: “Bingo requires a fair bit of luck, so we thought it’d be a good idea to get one of our boffins to analyse the results of over 700 million games to find out who does best.
"So, well done to the people of Kirkwall who seem to be far more fortunate than anyone else in the country.
“Given the strong Scottish representation amongst the luckiest locations, you may consider a move north of the border to bring good fortune. I’d stay well clear of Wales though. And it’s also not very lucky…”
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