UPDATED 10.30 a.m. (Septebmer 7)

Lotto offices across Malta and Gozo opened today but their terminals were turned off after attempts at breaking a deadlock in a dispute between the GRTU and lotteries operator Maltco failed.

The receivers were selling scratch and telephone cards and other services that did not involve use of the terminal.

Joe Attard, spokesman for the GRTU - to which the Lotto Receivers' Union is affiliated - said two further attempts had been made to break the deadlock  but both failed.

"We made proposals to Maltco and its mother company Intralot. Maltco did not reply and Intralot referred us to Maltco," he said.

The issue is over a guarantee of €24,000 which Maltco had demanded from a Mosta lotto receiver.

The receiver has to date paid a guarantee of €10,000 but says he cannot afford €24,000. 

The GRTU today offered a compromise whereby the lotto receivers would jointly guarantee any default by the lotto receiver for eight weeks while talks are held.

No reply was received.

"We sent them a letter on Friday and four letters since then, and they did not even send an acknowledgement," Mr Attard said.

In view of the situation, he said, 218 lotto offices in Malta and Gozo will be closed indefinitely as form tomorrow (This week's lotto is tomorrow).

LEGAL ACTION

Earlier today, the lotto receiver at the heart of the dispute, Paul Mamo,  filed legal proceedings against Maltco after the lotteries operator disconnected his terminal on August 16.

The terminal was disconnected after he did not pay the  guarantee of €24,000.

Mr Mamo said Maltco had raised the guarantee from €10,000 to €24,000 without justification and he could not afford the new amount.

He said the amounts he owed Maltco never exceeded €10,000 and were always covered by the guarantee.

The case was filed before the Malta Arbitration Tribunal, the first legal point of contact for lotto operators.

Mr Mamo also filed an application for the court to issue a warrant of prohibitory injunction to stop Maltco from terminating his service agreement.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Charmaine Charett represented Mr Mamo.

The GRTU warned of its strike action yesterday. It gave Maltco until 5 p.m. today to restore service to his lotto office. 

FINANCIAL GUARANTEES

The issue revolves around the monetary guarantee that lotto receivers give to the company as a sort of assurance for the money they owe.

Some 180 receivers are part of a collective guarantee while the rest, about 31, have guarantees that they discuss individually with Maltco.

The receivers all wanted to form part of this collective guarantee but the company is refusing to allow this.

Moreover, some of those who had individual agreements were being asked for steep increases. The Mosta lotto receiver is being asked to increase his €10,000 guarantee to €24,000.

Maltco had given the receiver a week to pay up but he could not afford it so the company suspended his service.

Another receiver in Qormi has had his guarantee doubled to €10,000.