MALTCO Lotteries Ltd., the Malta’s National Lottery operator, announced today the launch of the new exiting sports betting game, U*Bet.

U*Bet is a “Fixed Odds” Game, the most popular form of sports betting throughout the world today. Initially, U*Bet will be based on football games while in the future games related to other sports events (such as Basketball, Waterpolo, Volleyball, Formula 1, etc) will be offered.At its present form U*Bet will provide three different games, each one having unique characteristics thus offering different playing options.

• U*BET Football Long List includes hundreds of international football games played daily. Players have the possibility to predict the final outcome of up to fifteen matches (by means of 1-X-2), the half-time result, the full-time result or the combination of both and the correct score of a match. Odds are offered for all major European and South America Leagues (i.e. Italian, English, German, Spanish, Argentina, Brazil, Champions’ League, etc)

• U*BET Football Gold, with games grouped in different sections, offers additional options for winnings, as players can select up to twenty-one matches in a column.

• U*BET Sports Challenge, offers players the possibility to predict well in advance, the final winner of a tournament or a series of events (i.e. the Champion of a league, the winner of the ‘Champion’s League’ or the finalists of World Cup).

U*BET programs will be distributed free of charge twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, from all the Lotto Booths where the game will be offered. Also in parallel, the program will be made available to all the newspapers in Malta, as well as to all other media, for information purposes. The results of all the events included in the program will be available at all Lotto booths, shortly after the end of each event and through teletext.

Dr. John Katakis, CEO of M ALTCO Lotteries, stated that:
“U*Bet will be played using the same state-of-the-art technology platform currently used to play SUPER 5 and SATURDAY LOTTO, from all the current on-line Lottery Points of Sale, thus enabling the players to play until 10 minutes before each event starts. The U*Bet program with the respective odds will be provided by INTRALOT, which has long experience and extensive know how in the operation of Fixed Odds Betting games, since it operates such games in more than 10 countries worldwide. Its global expertise would contribute significantly towards the elimination of the local illegal betting market, whilst at the same time a new form of legitimate entertainment will be offered to the Maltese market.”.

INTRALOT holds a 73% in MALTCO Lotteries Ltd, while local entrepreneurs posses the remaining (Players Group 24% and ASL 3%). Currently, MALTCO employs more than 60 persons (95% Maltese) and the total investment is expected to reach 13 million LM upon its completion.

 

ABOUT INTRALOT

INTRALOT is engaged in the development of integrated gaming systems and provides multiple services related to the design, development, operation and support of games. Based on its extensive know how, advanced product development specifications and substantial experience in organizing and operating lottery games, INTRALOT can offer its clients custom-made integrated solutions, which ensure maximum efficiency and absolute security. Following a highly successful period of rapid growth, INTRALOT is ranked 3rd in revenues and 2nd in profits, based on 2002 financial results, among lottery suppliers worldwide, and maintains a steady course towards the leading position in the global market. Today the company has secured an important position in the European and South American markets while is expanding its presence in North America and S.E. Asia.