The Lotto Receivers’ Union has called on the gaming authority not to grant Maltco a licence for the national lottery, Super 5 and lotto.

In a judicial protest filed against the Finance Ministry and the Lotteries and Gaming Authority, the union said it had been calling for a meeting with the authorities but to no avail.

The union said it wanted to discuss the working conditions of its members who were concerned about their future.

Their earnings depended entirely on the commission they received from selling Maltco Lotteries products. The privatisation unit last year issued a call for tenders for a 10-year concession for the national lottery, Super 5 and lotto because Maltco’s licence was about to expire, the union said. Maltco was chosen as the preferred bidder.

The 10-year concession did not include other Maltco products, which lotto booth owners also sold and were “an integral part” of the existing contract with Maltco, the union said.

It was “sceptical” when the ministry said that the “existing arrangements” would be kept because the call for tenders only referred to an exclusive licence for the three games.

The union asked the court to call an urgent meeting with the Finance Minister within a week to discuss the call for tenders.

It also requested the court to inform Maltco, as preferred bidder, to hold a series of meetings with the union to discuss, and safeguard, the receivers’ working conditions. Lawyer Antoine Naudi signed the protest.