The national lottery operator, Maltco, can expect a decision today or tomorrow on its court application to stop the call for tenders for a new gaming operator.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech testified in the case on Tuesday that the government may have to take back control of the lottery department if the courts upheld the request.

Maltco’s contract expires next year.

According to its gaming licence, if Maltco is not granted a renewal or a new licence after a call for tenders, it is entitled to an exit period of one year over and above the seven-year term of the licence.

The company is contesting the way the gaming authority handled the matter. It alleges that the gaming authority is breaching the licence when it claims that the licence shall come to lapse on the eighth year if there is failure to renew or award a new licence following a call for tenders before the lapse of the seven-year term of the licence.

The company is not claiming it has the right to an automatic renewal or that the authority has no right to exercise its discretion not to renew.

It argues that it deserved to be treated fairly after an impeccable seven-year record. It claims that its request for a renewal has been rejected without being heard and without being given any reason. This amounted to a breach of its rights.

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