BPTY.L Regulatory News (BPTY)

23 December 2010

Announcement by bwin Interactive Entertainment AG ("bwin")

Below is the text of an announcement issued today by bwin.

bwin and PartyGaming present details on the merger

bwin.party digital entertainment will be the world's largest publicly listed online gaming provider.

Vienna, 23 December 2010 - The merger plan presented by bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and PartyGaming Plc will create the world's largest publicly listed online gaming group - a group that will be ideally positioned to take advantage of the rapid consolidation of the online gaming industry and to open up new markets around the world. The annual synergies resulting from this merger are expected to total approximately 55 million Euros: it is anticipated that about three quarters of this amount will be achieved in the financial year 2012, with full synergies from 2013.

Brands to be retained

"The online gaming industry is going through a phase of consolidation, making market players' size and geographic diversification more crucial than ever," explains Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of bwin. The new company will operate worldwide with its existing brands under the name of bwin.party digital entertainment plc, in which current bwin shareholders are expected to hold 51.6 per cent of the shares and current PartyGaming shareholders 48.4 per cent. "Our products and target markets complement one another perfectly, and we can continue to expand our technology lead in all key product segments: sports betting, poker, casino, bingo and games," according to Teufelberger.

Strong capital structure and customer liquidity

Like PartyGaming in the past, bwin.party will have its headquarters in Gibraltar and be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Besides a clear focus on B2C products, the company will also steadily expand its B2B and B2G business. "Our many years of online know-how, healthy balance sheet, and one of the largest pools of poker liquidity in any regulated market will make us an attractive business partner," clarifies Teufelberger, who will head up the company as Co-CEO together with Jim Ryan, PartyGaming's current CEO. The business operations of bwin in Austria will be retained, where a newly founded subsidiary, bwin Services AG will support selected areas of the group in Vienna.

From merger plan to completion

The merger plan published today contains full details of the planned merger, and can be downloaded together with other documents from bwin's corporate website at www.bwin.org. The Executive Board of bwin will be convening an Extraordinary General Meeting on 28 January 2011 at which it will recommend shareholders to vote for the merger. Provided the general meetings of both bwin and PartyGaming approve this merger, all shareholders holding bwin shares when the merger becomes legally effective - expected to be towards the end of the first quarter of 2011 - will receive 12.23 PartyGaming shares denominated in GBP for each bwin share. This share swap will be carried out automatically and free of charge.

Any shareholders not wishing to become shareholders in bwin.party can sell their shares beforehand on the Vienna Stock Exchange or exercise their entitlement to a cash settlement. The amount of the cash settlement has been set at 23.52 Euros. The exchange ratio and the cash compensation amount have been confirmed as adequate by independent experts.

About bwin

The bwin Group has over 20 million registered customers in more than 25 core markets. On a number of different platforms, the Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games, soft and skill games, as well as audio and video streams of top sporting events such as the German Soccer League. The holding company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG is listed in the ATX on the Vienna Stock Exchange (ID code BWIN, Reuters ID code BWIN.VI), and as the parent company provides various services such as software development, marketing, communications, human resources and finance for its subsidiaries and associated companies. The operational business of the bwin Group is carried out by subsidiaries and associated companies on the basis of licences (e.g. Germany, Italy and Gibraltar). Full details about the Company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.org.

Picture-Download: http://www.bwin.org/Press.aspx

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Important legal notice

This summary has been produced for the purpose of information only. All documents on the planned merger between bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and PartyGaming Plc (and the preceding demerger to acquisition by bwin Services AG) that must be published in accordance with legal regulations (in particular the EU Mergers Act, the 2010 Companies (Cross-Border-Mergers) Regulations and the Demerger Act) are available for inspection at the registered offices of the respective companies and can be downloaded from www.bwin.org and www.partygaming.com. Only these documents are legally binding and definitive in connection with the merger and demerger.

Contact information:

Press

Matthias Winkler, Chief Communications Officer

P: +43 (0)50 858-20067

E: press@bwin.org

Investors

Konrad Sveceny, Investor Relations

P: +43(0)50 858-20017

E: investorrelations@bwin.org

bwin Interactive Entertainment AG

Börsegasse 11

1010 Vienna, Austria

www.bwin.org