Bookmakers predict Miriana Conte's chances of winning Eurovision dropped after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) banned the use of the word Kant from Malta's entry.

The EBU's decision on Tuesday garnered significant attention in Malta and abroad, with several international media outlets reporting on the ruling.

On Sunday, just before the EBU ruling, aggregated betting data gathered by Eurovisionworld.com showed Malta's chances of winning the European song contest at 11th place.

By Friday, Malta's chances had dropped three spots to 14th, with bookmakers saying Conte now had a two per cent chance of victory.

Betting odds for Malta have steadily declined since mid-February, when the country was ranked as the seventh favourite to win. Towards the end of last month, Malta dropped to ninth place before eventually falling a total of seven places to 14th. 

The Eurovision website has also removed Malta's song title Kant from its listings, now only naming Miriana Conte in its rankings.

Sweden, a country renowned for its Eurovision successes, is currently the favourite to win.

Betting data give Sweden's entry a 14 per cent chance of victory, even though the Nordic country will only select its representative on Saturday when its Melodifestivalen comes to an end.

On Wednesday, Malta condemned the EBU decision on its Eurovision entry as “artistic censorship” and discrimination against the Maltese language.

The controversy surrounding the song's title stems from its double meaning; while kant translates to “singing” in Maltese, it also bears a phonetic resemblance to a vulgar English slang term for part of the female anatomy.

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said that Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) is considering legal action following the EBU’s decision to ban the word kant from Malta’s Eurovision entry.

In the meantime, PBS will continue as directed “under protest,” the minister said, adding that the company would also appeal the decision to the chairman of the EBU television committee.