PokerStars.com STRIKES LUCKY WITH MOVE TO THE ISLE OF MAN

The Isle of Man Government today announced that PokerStars.com, the world’s largest tournament poker site, is relocating its Global Headquarters to the Island. PokerStars has been granted an e-Gaming Licence, by the Department of Home Affairs, under the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001. This will allow the online poker giant to operate its online multiplayer poker business from the Island.

PokerStars (www.pokerstars.com), home to the last two World Series of Poker Champions (WSOP) and to the prestigious World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), is acknowledged as the world’s leader in online poker tournaments. Since its foundation in 2001 it has hosted over ten million poker tournaments awarding over $1billion in prize money, and dealt over 2 billion hands at its tables. PokerStars is expected to complete it’s relocation of operations to the Island during the second half of this year.

Nola Dalla, Director of Communications at PokerStars, comments: “The decision to relocate to the Isle of Man was unanimous; the infrastructure on the Island meets all of our current business needs and strategies and the regulatory structure permits PokerStars to operate to its full potential. We are grateful to the Government for their support and guidance in acquiring our e-Gaming Licence and look forward to developing our future plans in the Island.”

Bill Mummery Head of e-Gaming Development for the Isle of Man Government comments: “PokerStars is a premium player in the industry with a world class reputation. Their arrival is a significant step forward in the e-Gaming strategy we have developed for a comprehensive range of e-Gaming services on the Island – from online payment services, to software and web design companies to Sports Betting service providers.

This is another milestone in our e-Gaming development following on from Neteller and Micro Gaming and we have no doubt that PokerStars presence will contribute to other premium e-Gaming operators relocating to the Island.”

Department of Trade and Industry Minister Alex Downie commented “I am delighted that through close co-operation between departments within Government, and with the private sector, we have been able to attract an e-Gaming company of the calibre of PokerStars as part of our strategy to develop e-business. In 2004 the e-Gaming sector grew by 15% and we expect to deliver the same level of growth in 2005.”

Treasury Minister Allan Bell said: “The main drivers for the increasing levels of interest appear to be the zero tax strategy, international reputation, the Island’s triple AAA credit rating from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, and state of the art telecommunications infrastructure and associated support services. We are delighted that PokerStars chose the Isle of Man as its preferred jurisdiction and look forward to continuing to work with them.”

For more information:

Alison Boucher/Siobhan Mccluskey, Lansons Communications - Tel: 02072943616 / 02072943684

Tim Craine, e-Business Director - Tel: 01624 686 395 Email: tim.craine@gov.im

Bill Mummery, e-Gaming Ambassador Tel: 01624 682 307 M: 07624 494113 Email: bill.mummery@dti.gov.im

About PokerStars

PokerStars (www.pokerstars.com), is the world's most innovative online poker site. PokerStars was the first site to introduce features that became industry standard such as advanced multi-table tournaments, integrated game statistics, players' notes, personalized images, time bank for tournaments and ring big bet games, satellite tournaments, multi-table sit and go tournaments, and much more.

PokerStars' support team is truly unique, as help and support is available around the clock from people who know and understand both the game of poker, and the importance of impeccable customer service.

PokerStars is the world's leading tournament site. To date, PokerStars has dealt over two billion hands and run more than ten million poker tournaments, awarding over $1 billion in prize money. PokerStars utilizes industry-leading security software to ensure the integrity of the system, including encryption, card shuffle randomness and preventative measures against cheating and collusion. Money covering player's balances is held in segregated accounts managed by the Royal Bank of Scotland, ensuring that PokerStars can fulfil its obligations towards players at all times.

PokerStars an official member of the World Poker Tour, and the title sponsor of the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. PokerStars.com also hosts the World Championship of Online Poker, the world's largest online poker tournament, with a prize pool of over $6 million in 2004. PokerStars is the site where the 2003 and 2004 World Champions of Poker won entries into the World Series of Poker, thus earning the trademark -- "Where poker players become World Champions."