Maltco is hoping Friday 13 is lucky for one punter next week, when it launches its revamped Grand Lottery.
There hasn’t been a single jackpot winner since the competition – held every two months – made its debut in March.
From September 13 the game will be drawn weekly in an effort to boost its popularity.
Tickets for the new lotto will be priced at €3, down from €10 for the now defunct bi-monthly game.
“Our experience over the past six months has shown that having the game so infrequently was a problem as players could not get used to it,” Maltco CEO Ioannis Katakis said.
Citing commercial confidentiality, Mr Katakis refused to say how many tickets had been sold for its bi-monthly Grand Lottery draws.
Having the game so infrequently was a problem as players could not get used to it
Last Friday the jackpot was up to €1.2 million but still no one claimed the top prize.
The jackpot for the September 13 draw will be €1.27 million and will increase weekly until the top prize is won. After that, the starting jackpot will be €500,000, as opposed to €1 million in the old format.
When the jackpot is not won, at least €20,000 will be transferred to the top prize fund for the next draw.
Mr Katakis denied that punters were discouraged from playing the Grand Lottery because of a perception that the chances of winning were too slim.
“The odds of winning the jackpot each week are 1:700,000,” the CEO insisted, which was more favourable than the odds in Quaterno and Super 5, Maltco’s other flagship lottery games.
He added that Maltco expected the Grand Lottery to attract a different style of player than its other lotteries.
The game structure will remain unchanged. Each ticket has a unique combination of 10 numbers, with 10 chances for the player to win a prize.
Apart from the top prize for whoever gets all the numbers correct and in the right order, there are lower categories with rewards ranging from €4,500 to €300.
Tickets for the September 13 draw will go on sale tomorrow from all authorised Maltco sellers. They will be available until one hour before the draw.
A training seminar to get Maltco sellers up to speed with the changes will take place today.
The draws will be screened live every Friday at 8.30pm on Smash TV and Maltco.com.