VAT lottery prize fund more than doubles to €120,000 a month

Malta’s Fiscal Receipts Lottery is set to more than double its monthly prize allocation to €120,000, with two draws each month offering €60,000 in prizes per draw under new regulations published in the Government Gazette on 16th October 2026.

The revised rules provide for draws on the 15th and 23rd of each month, subject to adjustments where these dates fall on non-working days. Each draw will have a total prize allocation of €60,000.

The lottery faced scrutiny over the years, but in October 2022, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told Parliament that two investigations had found no irregularities.

The lottery had also been subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office. In its 2017 report, the office identified weaknesses in the lottery’s procedures, including concerns relating to the drawing equipment, audit trail and receipt validation process.

The new regulations replace those published in April 2019 and set out procedures for conducting the draws, supervising the process and publishing results.

Under the revised framework, a supervisory board includes a Finance Ministry representative, a government notary and a representative familiar with VAT legislation. Observers include a member of the public appointed by the minister and a representative of the Auditor General.

The regulations also specify procedures for placing bags of receipts into the drawing urn in the presence of two Ministry public officers before the bags are sealed.