“It all starts here”; National Lottery of Malta kicks off with BIG THINGS ahead

Jul 7 2022

In a commemorative event held at the Saluting Battery at the Upper Barakka Gardens, in Valletta, National Lottery plc celebrated the start of the takeover of the national lottery of Malta.

Earlier in the morning National Lottery plc a subsidiary of the IZI Group was granted an exclusive licence to operate the national lottery of Malta which includes the popular games of Lotto and Super5 by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) for the next ten years.

In a short speech to commemorate this defining moment for the Group, Mr. Johann Schembri – CEO of National Lottery plc explained how today marks a new era for the national lottery of Malta. ‘Today is culmination of years of work that we have undertaken as a team. I am very grateful to have found a team of people that have put their life on hold to ensure that we deliver a new national lottery service in record time,” commented Mr. Schembri as he thanked the hundreds of employees that form part of the IZI Group.

“We are committed to deliver an innovative, forward-looking and above all a fair and transparent national lottery service, powered by the world’s leading lottery technology company, International Game Technology (IGT). We are also proud and privileged to be the first fully owned Maltese company to operate what essentially is the most important gaming operation in Malta which now allows our Group to take an active role in all the land-based gaming business verticals. Our aspiration is to take the national lottery of Malta to unprecedented levels in line with the highest operating standards found in Europe.”

Mr. Schembri thanked all the stakeholders that were involved in making this project a reality, including the Ministry for the Economy, the Privatisation Unit, the Malta Gaming Authority, and representatives of the Lottery Agents (the Malta Chamber of SMEs, LRU, GLAA), Bank of Valletta plc, and all bondholders for the trust that they have shown in National Lottery plc.

In his address, the Minister of the Economy, European Funds and Arts, Silvio Schembri said that National Lottery plc will be keeping alive the popular and beloved games of Lotto, Super5 and other games, whilst at the same time adhering to strict responsible gaming principles. “I would like to thank the Privatisation Unit who led the whole process as well as the Malta Gaming Authority for the technical assistance so that today we have a new Maltese Lottery operator. Above all I would like to thank and wish the best to National Lottery plc for the next ten years,” said Minister Silvio Schembri.

National Lottery plc is expected to bring several improvements to the existing games, including improved odds for Lotto, the elimination of prize capping, a new Tuesday Lotto draw and larger jackpots for the Super5 game. National Lottery plc will also introduce new games to enrich the current portfolio, including add-ons to the Super5 game (Super5 Plus and Super5-4-3-2-1) and the introduction of a new digit game known as Pick3. The popular game of Keno will be distributed under a new brand name – FastKeno.

National Lottery plc has also managed to acquire the rights to distribute Malta’s most popular sports betting brand – IZIBET which from today will be available through more than 200 points of sale across Malta and Gozo.

National Lottery plc takes over the operation of the national lottery of Malta from Maltco Lotteries today, with the first Lotto draw earmarked for Saturday 9th July 2022 at 20:35hrs, followed by the first ever Tuesday Lotto draw on the 12th July 2022 also at 8.30pm on TVM.

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ConGRADulations! 19 new doctors graduate from Gozo-based London university

Jul 7 2022

A recent historical ceremony at Gozo’s Citadella saw the graduation of the first 19 doctors from London’s Queen Mary University who, for the past 5 years, studied at their campus within the Gozo General Hospital.

The Queen Mary University of London kickstarted its journey in Malta 9 years ago, now boasting up to 250 medicine students from 170 countries around the world. The ceremony was also addressed by newly-graduated doctor Marie Sophie Gong, who stated that she and her fellow students worked immensely hard to vaccinate the people of Gozo during their years of study.

“Revising on the beach was certainly quite different from being in Whitechapel”, Gong stated before she gave way to principal Colin Bailey and Dean Anthony Warrens, who stated that the class of 2022 will always be remembered as the founding students of the Malta campus and are standing on the shoulders of giants that have gone before them.

Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that the graduation ceremony was the peak of the governments vision for the Queen Mary University of London’s journey in Malta and, the project became a reality thanks to multiple parties such as the Queen Mary’s administration, who believed and implemented the government’s vision.

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Photo Source: TVM / Pixabay

Għaxaq Music Festival to welcome stacked line-up after two-year absence

Jul 7 2022

The Għaxaq Music Festival is finally back and after two years in the waiting room, the line-up alone calls for celebration! The two-day music festival invites attendees to binge out on good quality music surrounded by loved ones.

The party will kick off on Friday 22nd July with the lyrical talents of Maltese band Kantera to open the show followed by headlining act The Travellers, performing a heartfelt, unashamedly romantic repertoire that will be you float like air-balloons in the blush of romance. The Travellers are reportedly charged for their first massive show in the season and ready to take centre stage for a celebration of Maltese language at the Għaxaq Music Festival.

The Grand Finale falls on Saturday 23rd July as spell-binding icons UB40 will hit the stage with their full repertoire of musical gems and glazed voice of Ali Campbell. The show is planned to be a celebration of UB40-member Astro’s life after he heartbreakingly passed away in November 2021. Local music collective ManaTapu will get the energy going as they open the Saturday show.

With a line-up which is super stacked, to say the least, the Għaxaq Music Festival promises to be a another extraordinary festive night of music which will recreate the dearly-missed festa feeling… can there be anything more enticing?

Send this to a music lover!

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Rihanna becomes youngest female self-made American billionaire

Jul 6 2022

Rihanna has just made history as she became the youngest female self-made billionaire in America, beating even Kim Kardashian.

With a net worth of $1.4 billion and being the top-selling digital artist of all time, selling 215 million digital tracks and 60 million albums, her musical wealth is relatively miniscule.

The majority of her fortune comes from a well of business interests, primary of which is cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty. The 34-year-old has a 30% stake in the Savage X Fenty lingerie line, which was valued at $1bn in February 2021.

But that’s not all – she has an impressive property portfolio, with a Beverly Hills mansion priced at a whopping $13.75m, a $10m neighbouring pad and Hollywood Hills rental property.

According to calculations conducted by Forbes, the pop icon is thought to be Barbados’ first billionaire after becoming the world’s richest female musician. She is the 21st richest self-made billionaire in the US, with Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey ahead of her.

However, at 41 years old, Rihanna is the youngest on the list. Other people on the list include Kylie Jenner, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Beyonce and Serena Williams. Speaking about this, she said she understood why it would inspire people.

“It made sense when I realised that it was inspiring to people, that they felt like this is something that they could achieve knowing where I’ve come from. Knowing my humble beginnings, they see the possibility, and it gives them hope. That made me feel really happy.”

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