Absolute Poker Signs with CheckFree

23 March 2006

ATLANTA, Georgia – (PRESS RELEASE) -- CheckFree (Nasdaq: CKFR), today announced that Absolute Poker, the world's fourth largest online poker destination, has selected CheckFree's Operational Risk Management solution, Accurate NXG. In response to the growth in online gaming and the company's expansion into new markets, Absolute Poker will use CheckFree's Accurate NXG to automate its reconciliation and exception management procedures in order to mitigate transactional risk and tighten its operational controls.

CheckFree's Accurate NXG will provide an enterprise-wide reconciliation and exception management framework and a business intelligence Dashboard reporting solution, enabling Absolute Poker to better address rapidly increasing volumes of online transactions.

In a multi-phased implementation, CheckFree's Operational Risk Management solution will firstly be deployed in Absolute Poker's operations in Costa Rica in the first quarter of 2006, replacing semi-automated in-house reconciliation, exception management and payment analysis processes. As its volume of online transactions soared, Absolute Poker saw a need for tighter operational control and was keen to reduce transactional risk in its online sales channels. By automating the end-to-end transaction processing of payments from inception to final resolution through a single reconciliation platform, CheckFree's Accurate NXG will decrease processing time considerably whilst reducing costs and Absolute Poker's potential exposure to operational risk.

Absolute Poker's senior finance and operations management executives will be equipped with CheckFree's Accurate NXG business intelligence Dashboard technology which provides enhanced management information reporting. In the first phase of the implementation, the Dashboard will be used across Absolute Poker's payment channels, enabling monitoring of trends and cash flows relating to multi-currency deposits and withdrawals.

CheckFree's considerable domain expertise in the gaming industry has enabled it to further develop its Dashboard technology to give customers an extra level of sophistication and transparency in their reporting processes. In phase two of the deployment, Absolute Poker will leverage the Dashboard further to analyse cash flows and perform behavioural analysis. As the relationship continues, Absolute Poker envisages that CheckFree's Accurate NXG Dashboard will become a vital component in its fraud prevention strategy, enabling senior management to analyse and monitor fraudulent behaviour and prevent loss, complementing its existing security features.

"With our rapid expansion outside of our domestic market has come the need to build an effective reconciliation and exception management framework, that enables us to maintain stringent operational control across our organisation," said Brent Beckley, Director of Payments and Risk Management for Absolute Poker. "CheckFree's strong client base and reputation in the gaming industry made the firm the obvious choice to help us to effectively develop our existing operational control infrastructure. As we look to strengthen our fraud prevention and security services further, CheckFree's Dashboard technology will form a key part of this strategy."

Since its creation in 2003, Absolute Poker has seen experienced exponential growth year on year, counting nearly two million active accounts with 25,000 users at peak times. The site is currently available in English and Spanish, and is accessed mainly by customers in the Americas. Absolute Poker currently handles transactions through leading payments service providers, including VISA, MasterCard, Switch, Solo, Maestro and Electron as well as with payment service specialists such as NETeller, Moneybookers, Firepay, Click2Pay, and Nexum.

Peter Jameson, business development manager, Gaming and Leisure at CheckFree said, "Absolute Poker's choice of CheckFree's Accurate NXG demonstrates that our solution is both scalable and flexible enough to support business growth in new markets. CheckFree has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by both domestic and global online gaming companies and as a result continues to build unrivalled solutions that can potentially reduce operational risk across the enterprise. Furthermore, the experience gained from our customers will ensure that new technology, such as our business intelligence Dashboard, meets the needs of the industry while offering outstanding business value."