Dragonara Gaming Ltd has obtained an injunction preventing the government from proceeding with the granting of a new casino licence to the Eden Leisure Group.

Following last week’s announcement that Eden Leisure had been identified as the preferred bidder, the company which placed second – Dragonara Gaming Ltd – took the issue to court accusing the government of conducting a vitiated process.

After hearing pleas from the second preferred bidder, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Micallef, issued an injunction until the matter is decided by the court.

Dragonara Gaming Ltd objected to the award of the licence to Eden on the basis that its financial offer was €3 million higher.

However, in a statement issued on Saturday, the government said the financial value of Eden Leisure’s proposal “was substantially higher than that of the other proponents” and that the most important aspect was the total “financial value” and not the “financial offer”.

Objecting to this interpretation, Dragonara Gaming Ltd said the government’s stated reasoning did not form part of the criteria mentioned in the original expression of interest issued in July 2013.

“It’s like basing a decision on buying fish in the sea that still has to be caught,” the company said.

The company also said it had made various attempts to obtain clarifications on the criteria used by the evaluation committee, established by the privatisation unit, but the government had always been vague.

The process for granting a new casino licence started in July 2013 and was supposed to be concluded by October of that year, according to a timetable in the expression of interest.

However it was not until last week that the Economy Ministry announced that it had decided to place Eden Leisure as the preferred bidder.

At the same time, the ministry said it was going to embark on negotiations with the second preferred bidder with a view to awarding a second licence.

Only one licence had been contemplated when the tender was first issued.