National Lottery plc, which is majority owned by Izi Group plc, has been awarded with Malta’s lottery concession, following the completion of an assessment process by the privatisation unit.

The €105 million offer submitted by the company was one of two offers, with the second being for €53.3 million from the Sisal Malta Consortium.

The concession will see National Lottery plc take over from Maltco Lotteries, whose 10-year concession ends on July 4th 2022.

Izi Group also owns leading local gambling company Izibet, which offers both online and retail gambling services to customers, and holds the majority of shares in Peninsula Gaming Group, which operates the popular Dragonara Casino via Dragonara Gaming limited, alongside the Bianchi Group of Companies.

Proposals for a new national lottery licence were invited till October 8th, after which bids received were analysed by technical and financial advisory boards in a lengthly process.

Financial offers were opened on Monday, with the preferred party chosen on a basis of making the highest offer.

The National Lottery was first developed as a state entity in the 1960s, but was privatised in 2004, with the concession being awarded to Maltco Lotteries Limited, which formed with 73 per cent of shares being held by the Greek lottery operator Intralot.

The first concession was for a period of seven years, which was extended by one year before being re-awarded to Maltco for another period of 10 years.