Cherry acquires the betting exchange BETSSON.COM

• Cherry acquires all outstanding shares in Betsson • Total investment for 71% of the company amounts to SEK 31 million • Remaining 29% to be acquired at market value based on external valuations • Betsson has over 80,000 customers and offers sport betting, casino games, and poker • The company has developed profitably with very good growth

Today, Cherry’s board decided to immediately convert its convertible loans and call in all options in the British Internet gaming company Betsson. The transactions will mean that Cherry will obtain 100% ownership of Betsson. Favourable option agreement for Cherry Cherry became a partner in Betsson when the company was in an early stage of development. During this time an option agreement was signed with favourable terms. The agreement includes several different convertible loans and options. This means that Cherry has invested a total of SEK 31.7 million to obtain a 71% ownership in the company. Of this SEK 31.7 million, SEK 28.3 million has already been paid through a combination of share purchases and convertible debenture loans. The remaining SEK 3.4 million, which will now be paid in cash, together with converting loans will give Cherry 71% ownership. Cherry’s acquisition of the remaining 29% of Betsson The called-in options mean that Cherry will also acquire the remaining 29% of Betsson at market value. Betsson’s market value will be determined by a valuation from two independent external parties. Payment can be made in cash or with newly issued Cherry B-shares in accordance with the vote at Cherry’s annual general meeting. A valuation is expected be publicised in the end of March 2005. Reason for the acquisition Cherry’s board believes that there is a lot growth potential for sport betting through the type of betting exchange that Betsson operates. The betting exchange offers advantageous conditions for the players (better odds), and the operation can be run with a comparatively small organisation. Betsson’s casino games and poker have also had positive growth, partly due to the company’s complete gaming selection. Betsson’s competitiveness is considered to be quite good compared with the type of games provided by state-run gaming companies. Included in the Betsson Group is a technology development company (SBE Technologies) that will benefit from the software development that is being carried out by Cherry’s subsidiary, Net Entertainment. There are also other areas where synergies will be realised between Betsson and Cherry. Betsson: a modern gaming company Betsson is a betting exchange where players bet against each other. This means that the players always receive very favourable odds with an average payout of 98%. Betting exchanges have already taken considerable market shares in England – Europe’s most highly developed gaming market – and Cherry believes that this type of gaming will also be successful in other European markets. The market for betting exchanges is predicted to have an annual growth of 79% up until 2008 (MECN Analysis). Since 2003, Betsson also offers casino games, which are provided by Net Entertainment. Casino games are a popular feature of Betsson’s game offerings. Over 10,000 customers have played Betsson’s casino games since their launch. In June 2004, Betsson poker was launch. Internet poker is experiencing explosive growth, and the market is presently expanding by 16% every month according to www.pokerpulse.com. Betsson’s poker grew by 29% per month during November 2004--January 2005. Betsson is affiliated with PokerNetwork – one of the world’s largest and most respected poker networks – and is currently alone in its target market of offering games with a downloadable client or with no download. This means big advantages regarding accessibility for the players. Since its launch, Betsson has had 13,200 paying poker customers and at present 8,500 are active poker players. Betsson has over 80,000 registered customers. During the fourth quarter of 2004, 29,200 new customers registered, and during January 2005, more than 12,000 new customers registered. So far, customer influx during the first quarter of 2005 has been stronger than the last quarter of 2004. The Betsson Group has 20 employees and had revenues of SEK 5 million in January 2005. The Group is profitable. Comments: Pontus Lindwall, MD of Cherry and Net Entertainment says, “By investing in Betsson at an early stage, we can now acquire the entire company at an advantageous price for Cherry’s shareholders. We believe that the type of gaming that Betsson represents - a betting exchange - is facing continued strong growth. Players in large numbers are beginning to discover that other forms of gaming are more expensive, especially those that are state-run. Anders Holmgren, MD of Betsson says: “This is a very good deal for Betsson since we are getting an owner that has the resources to really develop Betsson’s potential. The current market situation is perfect for quickly establishing Betsson as a leading betting exchange. With an experienced owner such as Cherry, we are in a great position to achieve this.” Reorganisation of Cherry’s Internet gaming operations As a result of this acquisition, Cherry will be reorganising its Internet gaming operations. Cherry’s shareholdings in companies that run Internet gaming operations will be collected in a new area of operations called Cherry Online. Net Entertainment, which is purely a development company, will be accounted for separately. For more information please contact: Pontus Lindwall, CEO Cherry, +46 8 556 967 10, 0708-27 51 55, pontus.lindwall@netentertainment.com Martin Bunge-Meyer, PR-manager Betsson Ltd, tfn +46 70 553 51 41, martin.bunge-meyer@betsson.com