I refer to the letter Compulsive Gambling (May 22). I am sure that the public is aware that Maltco was granted a new exclusive 10-year contract by the previous government.

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with this monopoly. As soon as Maltco felt safe with the new concession it immediately raised the minimum price of the lotto ticket from 25c to 50c. Maltco increased the odds on the Super 5 game from 1:850688 to 1:1,221,790, the odds on the Quaterno+ from 1:511,083 to 1:784,808 and introduced what, in my opinion, is a ridiculously expensive National Lottery for the price of €10 per ticket having a first prize odds combination of 1:3,000,000.

If the previous administration thought that having one land-based gaming company would curb excessive gambling, this did not succeed. Actually the contrary is happening.

Winning the jackpot has become extremely difficult in all the games mentioned. Moreover, when the base jackpot in Super5 and Quaterno+ would not have been won by the first draw, the game itself would be sold and resold to the public several times over to the benefit of Maltco because the jackpot fund is only slightly increased.

Furthermore we are many times having three huge jackpots that only benefit one or a few prospective winners. The net effect of this is that millions of euros are being taken out of the Maltese economy to its detriment and placed in the hands of a very few people.

I feel that the new administration should look into this unbridled monopoly and perhaps introduce some competitive element by allowing similar gaming providers to operate so that the profit of gaming providers and that of the consumer would be distributed on a more equitable basis.