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WMS Gaming Launches Mechanical Reel Product Line

WAUKEGAN, Illinois -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- WMS Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS), announced today that having secured all required approvals for its operating system, Bluebird® gaming cabinet and new game themes, it has begun to ship mechanical reel products to North American casinos. These regulatory approvals follow lab testing and, in certain jurisdictions, the successful completion of field trials of WMS' mechanical reel platform and represent the first games approved for WMS' new mechanical reel product line. WMS estimates that mechanical reel products comprise over 50% of a typical casino's slot machine offerings in the North American market place.

"These regulatory approvals represent one of the final milestones in WMS' re-emergence and expanded role as a full service provider of all of the gaming device requirements of a typical casino slot floor," said Brian R. Gamache, President and CEO of WMS. "Our new mechanical reel product line extends WMS' tradition of creating games that are differentiated from other industry product offerings as they include innovative features such as the Can't Lose® and Scroll Top(TM) bonusing capabilities. In addition to being able to offer our casino customers leading-edge mechanical reel products and our proven multi-line, multi-coin, video products, we also recently began offering wide-area progressive products and video poker games. I am proud to again acknowledge our game development and engineering staffs for successfully garnering the unprecedented number of regulatory approvals we've received for new gaming systems, platforms and game themes over the last twelve months."

The six new, recently approved, mechanical reel games each feature the Can't Lose bonus feature which awards players with free spins that guarantee a winning combination. When a player bets the maximum amount of credits and a Can't Lose reel symbol appears on the payline, the player earns a free spin with a guaranteed winning payout that can be used any time the player chooses, and players have the ability to accumulate multiple winning spins. WMS expects first approvals for mechanical reel games incorporating WMS' proprietary Scroll Top bonus round feature in the December 2004 quarter. This innovative feature rewards players with free spins and a higher pay table for winning combinations during the free spins round.

The first six Can't Lose game themes that will be showcased at the fourth annual Global Gaming Expo (G2E), WMS Booth #4234 in Las Vegas, October 5-7 are:

American Spirit®, X-tra Hot 7's®, Blue Devils(TM), Rebel 7's(TM), Diamonds in the Rough(TM) and Golden Cherries(TM).

Bluebird, American Spirit, Blue Devils, Can't Lose, Diamonds in the Rough, Golden Cherries, Rebel 7's, Scroll Top and X-tra Hot 7's are trademarks of WMS Gaming, Inc. U.S. and International patents pending. (C)2004 WMS Industries Inc. All rights reserved.

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