The lotto receiver in Mosta whose terminal was disconnected because he could not afford to pay an extra €14,000 in guarantees has been connected again, more than five weeks later, his union has confirmed.

Talks are underway between Maltco and the GRTU although they are not pinned to the lotto receiver’s reconnection

Paul Mamo’s lotto office in Mosta is up and running again after he reached an agreement with lotto operator Maltco.

Mr Mamo even withdrew the court case he had instituted against Maltco over the matter. Contacted through his lawyers, Mr Mamo refused to comment.

But Joe Attard, a Chamber for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (GRTU) official, confirmed Mr Mamo had been reconnected. He said talks were under way between Maltco and the GRTU, adding that the discussions were not pinned on Mr Mamo’s reconnection.

This had been one of the chamber’s requests for discussions to start and solve the impasse between both sides.

The main bone of contention between the two was the disconnection of Mr Mamo’s terminal on August 16 because he could not afford to increase his monetary guarantee from €10,000 to €24,000.

Mr Mamo had taken the matter to court, complaining that the amounts he owed Maltco never exceeded €10,000 and were always covered by the previous guarantee.

Some 180 receivers are covered by a collective guarantee and the rest, about 31, have guarantees discussed individually with Maltco.

The receivers wanted to sign a collective guarantee but Maltco was objecting to it.