A 10-year concession agreement for the rights of the national lottery was signed today between the government and Maltco Lotteries Ltd.

This concession was granted after a competitive tendering process which was commenced on October 24.

Two bidders, Maltco, which has been running the national lottery since 2001 and GTech Betco Consortium submitted their tenders on January 5.

Following the adjudicating process, both bids satisfied the technical and financial requirements laid down in the call. The bidders also satisfied the due diligence criteria to satisfy the fit and proper test required by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority, the Finance Ministry said.

On this basis both bidders qualified to be adjudicated on their financial offer. These were opened on March 22 in the presence of representatives of both bidders and a notary public.

The highest bid of €39.1 million was offered by Maltco Lotteries Ltd and they were declared preferred bidders.

With the finalisation of the concession agreement and following the statutory notice published by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority on its intention to grant a licence to Maltco Lotteries Limited, a national lottery licence to offer national lottery games on an exclusive basis and additional games on a non-exclusive basis was granted by the authority with effect from July 5.