Eden Leisure has failed in a bid to impose a prohibitory injunction on the result of the Maltese National Lottery concession, which was awarded to National Lottery PLC, according to reports.
As reported by Malta Today, Eden Leisure, backed by Italy’s Sisal and Scientific Games International, filed a prohibitory injunction against the result which saw National Lottery PLC win the 10-year contract.
However, the trio of failed bidders was turned down in their attempts to stop the economy and finance ministries, the Privatisation Unit and the Malta Gaming Authority from naming its preferred applicant as the victor.
The lawyer for National Lottery PLC, Aaron Galea Cavallazzi, stated that there is no hard evidence to suggest that his client can not be named as the victors of the concession, adding that any potential prejudices suffered within the prohibitory injunction process would be made back through action for damages.
Malta Today reported that the application was submitted too late in the concession process to be considered by courts, with a statement from the three applicant groups stating: “It is useless for the applicants to attempt to turn back the clock, as this cannot be done through a warrant of prohibitory injunction and that is why the request for the injunction is not only frivolous and vexatious, but also irregular and abusive as it is attempting to stop the defendants… from carrying out their legal and contractual obligations.”
Back in November, it was announced that National Lottery PLC would take over the next licence period for the lottery, bidding €105m to take over from MaltCo, which did not bid for a second term.
The handover from MaltCo to the new licence holders will take place in July 2022, following the expiration of the former’s contract.
