Chartwell Acquires Micropower

27 May 2005

CALGARY – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Chartwell Technology Inc. (TSX:CWH), a leading provider of gaming software systems to the online and remote gaming industry is very pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of one of the premier online poker software developers, MICROPOWER Corporation of Gibraltar, for approximately $4 million.

MICROPOWER Corp. was founded in 2003 and has quickly established a brand that is synonymous with multi-player poker entertainment. Some of the biggest names in the online and iTV worlds have chosen MICROPOWER poker software including ESPN (Sports Television Network), NTN (iTV Games Network), FHM (UK Men's Magazine), Easybets and BoDog.com among others.

Chartwell is now able to offer this dynamic, multi-player poker software solution complete with single and multi-table tournament functionality, frequent player points, uploadable player images and integrated player stats plus an array of unique features including live dealers, in-game advertising and three to six table play, all designed to increase player loyalty and length of play. The new poker offering hosts an entire suite of today's most popular poker card games including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Hi/Lo, 5-Card Stud and 5-Card Draw. As with Chartwell's casino, mobile, bingo, kiosk and soft-game line-up, the new poker offering is built on an expandable and scalable platform, allowing for the integration of new games as required.

In order to quickly achieve a stronger competitive position in poker software development, Chartwell canvassed numerous acquisition candidates and concluded that the MICROPOWER solution was the best poker software system currently available. The MICROPOWER multi-player poker solution is built around scalability, reliability and security and has been proven in high traffic online environments.

"Growth of the online poker market has been exceptional", states Darold Parken, President and CEO of Chartwell, "strategic television marketing, passage of the UK Gaming Act and the movement toward further regulation in other jurisdictions will continue to drive the growth of this market. We recognized that, while our overall product suite is very strong, our poker software capabilities needed significant enhancement to quickly capitalize on opportunities. Our acquisition of MICROPOWER provides a huge boost to our software offering and our future development capabilities. This acquisition will provide the impetus for the next phase of Chartwell's growth. Equal in importance to the new poker software product are the very talented people that Chartwell has gained through this acquisition and it is with great pleasure that I welcome over 20 key development specialists to the Chartwell poker team. The combination of the best available poker product and a talented development team with Chartwell's trusted brand will enhance the suite of products we are able to offer existing clients as well as provide an exciting opportunity to expand our client base.

Available in all recognized languages, the new Chartwell multi-player poker solution uses the latest in client/server encryption and has been independently certified by the world's premier game-testing laboratory –TST (Technical Systems Testing). Gameplay is effectively maintained through a robust back office management system complete with all the tools necessary to manage a successful poker game environment. This new poker offering will seamlessly integrate with the Chartwell gaming system and with existing client platforms for stand-alone or community deployment allowing Chartwell to remain a pure software provider to many of the world's largest gaming brands.

The acquisition terms include contingent consideration based upon certain new MICROPOWER business opportunities. The total contingent consideration will not exceed $500,000 and 55,000 Chartwell shares.