Friday, May 19, 2006

Betting on football is by no means new - quite the opposite. It's one of the
oldest sports betting forms across Europe. But when 3BWin (www.3bwin.com)
opens for business, it's coming with a fresh approach and a promise to
completely transform sports betting. 3BWin has been receptive to betting
trends, and has understood that fewer and fewer people are prepared to risk
betting against the house, or on games were the house has too much control
over the betting. Instead of forcing the players to bet on predefined
coupons with limited chances of winning, users themselves are allowed to
control the bets. It allows the user to define the matches enclosed in the
bet, betting limits, participants - and ultimately, the limits for how large
winnings can be and how they are spread among the participants. Once that's
done, users can invite friends, colleagues or other contacts and start
placing bets.

The people behind this initiative are by no means newcomers to the online
community, or to the betting or gaming industries. 3BWin is a co-operation
between Hattrick, one of the world's largest football communities with over
800.000 active users, and the 3B gaming/betting community with over 10.000
active users. 3BWin's ambition is to quickly establish themselves as one of
the leading betting companies in Europe. They already have close to 850.000
community members within reach, which puts them in a clear position to
succeed.

"I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that betting is hotter
than ever in Europe right now. A good example is the astonishing growth of
online poker in the last 18 months, it clearly illustrates the potential and
interest for betting forms that go beyond the traditional offerings in
Europe," says 3Bwin CEO Peter Jidesten. "To some extent we've been inspired
by the business models that poker companies have brought to the market,
where players themselves are allowed to choose size of the bet, game, number
of participants to challenge - and in the long run, how much they can win.
The betting model itself, where the organisers take their profit in the form
of a rake or fee, is good for both players and betting companies. Players no
longer have to face the disadvantage of starting the bet with a mathematic
formula that is set at loss".

"Even though we open for business now, it's important to know that we have
been on the Internet for longer than most of today's betting companies. We
have a strong background in building lively sports and betting communities,
and we are quite sure that our business model, which combines betting
knowledge with Internet expertise, will have an impact on online betting in
Europe. The World Cup gives us an excellent platform for growth," says
Jidesten.

3BWin is being launched in a number of markets across Europe including
England, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden. Apart from coupon betting, 3BWin
offers traditional sports book betting for most major sports and sporting
events. The company, like most of its competitors, is registered in Malta,
where it also holds its betting licenses.