RNS Number:6593L
Tradingsports Exchange Systems PLC
29 May 2003


For Immediate Release                                                                             Thursday 29 May 2003

                         TradingSports Exchange Systems plc

                            FIRST DAY OF DEALINGS ON
                       THE ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT MARKET
                                    ("AIM")

TradingSports Exchange Systems plc ("TradingSports" or "the Group"), the
person-to-person ("P2P") betting exchange system provider, is pleased to
announce the details of its successful #4m fund raising by means of an
institutional placing ("the Placing") and the commencement of dealing on the
Alternative Investment Market today. Evolution Beeson Gregory is the nominated
adviser and broker to TradingSports.


PLACING STATISTICS


Placing Price per Ordinary Share                                                             115p
Number of Ordinary Shares Placed                                                        3,478,261
Total proceeds from the Placing (before expenses)                                             #4m
Number of Ordinary Shares in issue immediately following Admission                     10,494,261
Market capitalisation following the Placing at the Placing Price                           #12.1m


REASONS FOR THE ADMISSION AND PLACING AND USE OF PROCEEDS

The Directors believe that admission to trading on AIM will be beneficial to the
Group for the following reasons:


*   it will raise the profile of TradingSports and will help it to attract new customers;

*   the Group will be better placed to attract, recruit and retain key
    employees who may be further incentivised through the Share Option Schemes; and

*   it will aid the raising, when necessary, of additional finance, both
    equity and debt finance, for the future development of its business.

The #4 million (before expenses) raised through the Placing will be used to
strengthen the balance sheet of the Group and to fund the costs associated with
contract implementation and continued business development in Europe, North
America and Asia, as well as funding general working capital requirements.


Commenting on the successful fund raising, Joe Tighe, Chairman and Chief
Executive of TradingSports, said:

"The strong reception which we have received from investors recognises
TradingSports' prospects in a rapidly developing betting exchange environment.
Following the recent changes in betting legislation, the potential of person to
person betting providing bettors with an exciting gambling experience, has now
been recognised and endorsed. The Placing, the rapid increase in matched bets
that TradingSports has enjoyed over the past few weeks, and the fact that
TradingSports is the first publicly quoted betting exchange in the UK means that
the Group now has the financial resources to leverage its technology and market
position to deliver considerable growth."


For further information, please contact:


TradingSports                                               T: 020 8780 6000
Joe Tighe, Chief Executive

Evolution Beeson Gregory                                    T: 020 7488 4040
Michael Brennan

Buchanan Communications                                     T: 020 7466 5000
Bobby Morse / James Strong



THE BUSINESS

Founded in August 2000, TradingSports is a person-to-person ("P2P") betting
exchange system provider. It offers a technology platform primarily to sports
betting companies, through which individuals bet on live sporting events at any
point before and during the event. The Directors believe that the Group's
systems enable sports betting companies and online sports content portals to
derive additional revenue streams and attract and retain customers without the
substantial investment of building, developing and maintaining their own P2P
exchange systems.  Benefits to 'punters' include the availability of better odds
and the ability to back a horse (for example) to lose (lay) as well as win.

The Group aims to apply principles of a financial exchange and to act as a
clearing house for gambling companies offering P2P betting from any jurisdiction
in the world where it is lawful to do so. Its platform is aimed at the
business-to-business ("B2B") market and acts as an aggregator of liquidity from
different sports betting companies. TradingSports recognises that liquidity is
an important component to maximise the success of P2P betting. By providing an
exchange service with several participating members, thereby creating a
significant user base, TradingSports' services help to ensure that the potential
number of people with whom to bet is far greater than could be provided by one
individual bookmaker.

TradingSports itself has no direct relationship with bettors, does not handle
any money of individual bettors and is not exposed to the gambling risk
associated with a bookmaker, as it does not risk its own capital.

To date, TradingSports has signed contracts with several major online sports
betting companies. These include the following:


*  BetonSports - one of the world's largest sports gaming companies with
   an estimated 50,000 active customers;
*  CRIS - Costa Rica International Sportsbook, a Caribbean-based offshore bookmakers;
*  eHorse - a division of Horizon Twenty, based in Costa Rica, providing
   thoroughbred and harness wagering for over 75 tracks;
*  SBG Global - a large online sports gambling operation serving customers internationally;
*  Sportingbet - a UK publicly quoted company with 198,000 customers in
   Europe, Middle East and Africa, and 837,000 customers globally (as reported in December 2002);
*  TradIndex - the trading name of Monecor (London) Limited, an FSA
   regulated company and a member of the Tradition Group, one of the world's
   leading interdealer brokerage houses;
*  WITEuro - a division of Horizon Twenty, aiming at European sports offerings; and
*  iNet Software - a premier gaming systems provider with more than 30
   business clients representing end users world-wide.

The Directors believe that the Group's customers give access to a large pool of
potential online gambling liquidity. A revenue share marketing agreement has
also been signed with Matchedbets. The Group is currently in discussions with
several other major sports betting companies and information portals.


KEY STRENGTHS

The Directors consider that the following are the Group's strengths:

*  a B2B offering, providing P2P betting exchange systems to its business
   customers at a modest up-front cost of entry;
*  established contractual arrangements with several major online gambling companies;
*  a business model capable of substantial replication and of leveraging
   the marketing efforts of all of its customers to aggregate liquidity;
*  an advanced, flexible, robust and scalable technology platform, built
   using 'best of breed' hardware and software;
*  operations within a growth market of an expanding sector; and
*  an experienced management team with a clear, well defined business strategy.

The Directors consider that the combination of these strengths differentiates
TradingSports from its competitors and will enable it to maximise its
opportunities.


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

TradingSports has developed a betting exchange through which gambling companies
and online sports portals can offer their customers access to P2P betting along
with the potential associated benefits of being able to obtain access to greater
gambling liquidity, better odds, the capability to place bets while the event is
'in-running' and the ability to 'lay' or take bets. Traditionally, gamblers have
only been able to accept odds offered by bookmakers and have not had the ability
to offer their own odds for someone else to accept. Odds can also be offered and
accepted while the event is in progress or 'in-running'. Prior to betting
exchanges, 'in-running' betting presented a higher risk to the traditional
bookmaker.

Gambling events are run from TradingSports' exchange platform and branded with
its customers' look and feel. The Directors believe that, by offering a P2P
service to their end users in this way, TradingSports' customers retain brand
identity and awareness, assisting in customer retention and promoting the
acquisition of new customers drawn to the fast growing P2P betting market. No
end user information and no account deposits are passed to TradingSports,
protecting the valuable investment made by gambling companies in customer
acquisition costs. Furthermore, because TradingSports is not a
business-to-consumer ("B2C") proposition, it does not offer a betting exchange
interface to individual end users, and therefore never competes directly against
its own customers.


REVENUE MODEL

TradingSports' customers earn revenues from commission fees charged to winning
bettors. The commission is calculated as a percentage, typically up to 5 per
cent., of the bettors' winnings. Commission charging structures are determined
solely by TradingSports' customers.

TradingSports earns revenue by charging its customers an administration fee for
enabling the bet, which is related to end user activity volumes. In addition,
the Group earns implementation fees for getting systems up and running.


THE TECHNOLOGY

To date, over #4 million has been raised by the Group from investors, the
majority of which has been used to fund the development and implementation of a
fast, reliable, scalable and proven technology platform. The Directors believe
that TradingSports' technology is 'best of breed' for the online P2P gambling
industry. The TradingSports system has been designed to a high level of fault
tolerance with multiple sets of back-up hardware and high levels of performance,
and is capable of processing large numbers of transactions (bets) through a
facility which is managed 24 hours per day.


THE MARKET AND COMPETITION

There are numerous sports betting sites online. The sector has been
characterised by a number of companies which have been able to exploit the
growth in the online gambling market and acquire a significant level of betting
customers within a short timeframe. Many online sports gambling companies
provide services which are largely similar to one another and, as such, the
Directors believe that TradingSports' customers seek to remain competitive in
the market by product and promotion differentiation. TradingSports' offering
provides a vehicle for its customers to offer a popular betting product to their
end users, at a relatively low cost to themselves which, the Directors believe
will help the Group to acquire new customers.

Consumer interest in P2P online gambling is already proven. Betfair, among the
first online P2P gambling sites in the UK and primarily a B2C offering, has seen
considerable growth since its launch and states that its current weekly turnover
is over #50 million. Although numerous online gambling sites already exist, few
offer the interactive experience of P2P betting. The Directors believe that the
opportunity therefore exists for TradingSports to become an international force
in sports gambling by pursuing the B2B market as a P2P sports betting platform
provider to the existing gambling industry.


Competitors in the P2P gambling market include:

*  Columbia Exchange - a B2B system provider;
*  Betfair - a B2C betting exchange and the clear industry leader;
*  Betdaq - a B2C betting exchange; and
*  SportingOptions - a B2C betting exchange.


CURRENT TRADING AND PROSPECTS OF THE GROUP

Trading since 31 December 2002, the date to which the last audited accounts for
TradingSports UK (the wholly owned subsidiary of TradingSports) were prepared,
has grown considerably and a total of #6.5 million of bets has been matched in
the exchange up to 30 April 2003. Since 31 December 2002, the Group has signed
contracts with further online sportsbooks, which the Directors believe will, in
due course, lead to significant revenues. The Directors believe that other
sportsbooks with which the Group has existing agreements will become live over
the next few months and that the additional liquidity expected to result from
this will strengthen the Group's offering.

The potential of the platform was further demonstrated over the weekend of 3 May
2003, when eHorse went live to their customers in time for the Kentucky Derby
weekend and over #800,000 was matched during this weekend alone.

In addition, the Group raised #1.1 million of new equity in the first quarter of
2003. There have been no other significant changes in the financial position of
the Group since 31 December 2002 and all other aspects of the Group's trading
are in line with the Directors' expectations.


THE BOARD

Joseph Tighe, aged 37 - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Prior to co-founding TradingSports UK in August 2000, Joseph had considerable
experience in financial markets, principally as a commodities trader at Elders
Resources Limited between 1988 and 1992 and, between 1994 and 1999, as head of
US and European government bond options at Garban Europe Limited, where he was
responsible for implementing and guiding the US and European bond and swap
options businesses. He was also the co-founder and chief executive officer of
IndexTrade Europe Limited, where he was responsible for developing and
implementing the business plan. Joseph is responsible for implementing the
Group's strategy and day-to-day management of the Group's operations.


Peter Cass ACA, aged 47 - Finance Director

Peter joined TradingSports UK in September 2000. Previously, Peter spent 10
years with KPMG in major financial centres around the world between 1979 and
1989. He also has 12 years experience in the financial services sector as an
executive director at PT Wardley James Capel Indonesia between 1989 and 1990, an
executive director at Thaxted Investments Limited, Hong Kong, between 1990 and
1995 and, between 1996 and 2000, as a consultant at Beavis Walker, Chartered
Accountants, where he undertook a series of advisory assignments with their
client portfolio. He has a PhD and is a qualified chartered accountant. Peter is
responsible for all financial aspects of the Group's business.


Graham Twaddle, aged 41 - Chief Technical Officer

Graham joined TradingSports UK in July 2001. He has 20 years experience in
designing, developing and managing IT solutions for growing companies. He was a
senior database designer at SYSCORP Limited between 1985 and 1988, senior
consultant and founder of Beta Computer Consultants between 1988 and 1989,
technical director of Beta Computers Europe Limited between 1989 and 1995,
technical director of Sherwood International Limited between 1993 and 1995 and,
between 1995 and 2003, research and development director at Sherwood
International PLC, where he was responsible for the development of products,
services and tool sets across the company. Graham is responsible for leading the
Group's technical team.



Kenneth Mulvany, aged 35 - Strategic Development Director

Kenneth joined TradingSports UK in March 2002, assuming responsibility for
assisting with the Company's strategic planning and business affairs. Kenneth
has successfully managed the strategic development of several companies,
including FirstPeer, Inc. and The Strategum Group (which he co-founded).



Martyn Konig, aged 45 - Non-executive Director

Martyn joined TradingSports UK as a non-executive Director in June 2001. He is
principal of MK Associates, a specialist consultancy to the banking, resource
and commodity industries, which he established in January 1999. He has 20 years
experience in investment banking, having been a main board director and member
of the executive committee of N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited, where he worked
between 1980 and 1995, an executive director responsible for the London
commodities operations of Goldman Sachs between 1995 and 1996 and managing
director and deputy global head of the commodities group of UBS between 1996 and
1999. He is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a qualified
Barrister.



Andrew White, aged 32 - Non-executive Director

Andrew joined TradingSports UK as a non-executive Director in August 2002. He is
the founder and chief executive officer of WSM Sport Limited, a sports marketing
agency, with 10 years experience in sports marketing at Vantage Sports between
1994 and 1995 and Octagon between 1995 and 1999, prior to founding WSM Sport
Limited in 1999.




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