A 10-year concession agreement for the rights of the national lottery has been signed between the government and Maltco Lotteries.

The concession was granted after a tender process which started in October 2011.

Two entities, Maltco Lotteries, which has been running the National Lottery since 2001, and GTech Betco Consortium submitted bids in January 2012.

Both companies qualified to be adjudicated and the bids were opened in March.

The highest bid of €39.1 million was offered by Maltco Lotteries and the company was declared as the preferred bidder.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said that through this process, the government ensured that it obtained the best market value for the concession rights, making an important contribution to government revenues.

The National Lottery license will carry the obligation of transferring funds to the Good Causes Fund, and from this licence, an annual contribution of €50,000 to the planned Responsible Gaming Fund.

Starting from July 5, the minimum age to play national lottery games will go up from 16 to 18 years as per amendments made to the Lotteries and Other Games Act in 2010.

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