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A cheque of Lm5 million for the first installment of the up front fee of Lm8 million was presented to the Maltese authorities by Maltco Lotteries Ltd. On Monday they were awarded a seven-year licence to operate the National Lottery of Malta. The signing ceremony took place at the Cettina Decesare Suite, InterContinental Malta, in St Julians. John Dalli, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs and Dr Joseph Zammit Maempel, Chairman signed on behalf of the Government of Malta and the Lotteries & Gaming Authority respectively while Dr John Katakis, CEO signed on behalf of Maltco Lotteries Ltd.
Maltco Lotteries is represented by INTRALOT with a 73 per cent shareholding and a group of four Maltese high profile companies holding the remaining 27 per cent of the shares.
“There was dedication from the Government and all the participants, including the Privatisation Unit and Maltco Lotteries representatives, and they all have put a lot of effort. I must admit that the Government of Malta was a very demanding negotiator,” Constantinos Antonopoulos, CEO of INTRALOT said.
Mr Antonopoulos added that Malta represents a pioneering model in the world lottery market for the privatisation and modernisation of lotteries.
The Malta operation will be based on a mixed licence model, whereby the state collects an up front fee for the licence, in this case Lm8 million, and also receives an on-going fee from the revenues of the games. This, Mr Antonopoulos stated is considered to be an efficient and beneficial approach for the Government of Malta. Maltco Lotteries will be making a total investment of approximately Lm13 million over the seven-year period and will create new jobs in the IT and the business sector.
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