9 April 2014

bwin.party digital entertainment plc
("bwin.party" or the "Company")

New Chairman

bwin.party's Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Philip Yea will succeed Simon Duffy as Chairman of the Board.  Philip has been appointed an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect and will succeed Simon as Chairman when he steps down as a Director at the conclusion of the Company's Annual General Meeting on 22 May 2014.  The appointment follows a recruitment process conducted by a committee of the independent Directors, assisted by an external search and selection firm.

Philip, aged 59, is a Non-Executive Director of Vodafone Group Plc and Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the British Heart Foundation.  He has extensive experience in private equity, having been Chief Executive of 3i Group plc from 2004 to 2009 and as a Managing Director at Investcorp from 1999 to 2004. Prior to these roles he was Finance Director at Diageo plc and prior to that Guinness PLC where he played a key role in the merger to form Diageo.  He has chaired a number of leading private companies, including Majid Al Futtaim Properties in Dubai and Leica Geosystems in Switzerland.  Previous public company non-executive directorships include Manchester United Plc from 2000 to 2004 where he was the Senior Independent Director, HBOS PLC (2000-2004) and Halifax plc (1999-2000), and William Baird PLC (1995-1999) where he was Deputy Chairman. 

Philip is a trustee of the Francis Crick Institute and also a member of a number of Advisory Boards.  He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has a degree in Modern Languages from Oxford University.

Commenting on today's announcement, Rod Perry, Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director, said:

"The Board is delighted to welcome Philip to bwin.party.  His extensive investment and financial experience coupled with his background of serving on public company boards will prove invaluable as he leads the Board through bwin.party's next chapter of evolution."

Philip Yea said:

"I am excited to be joining bwin.party at this interesting stage in its development.  There are some exciting opportunities and challenges for the business as it looks to leverage its technology, further reduce costs and build shareholder value through development of its regulated business, particularly in the US.

Philip has a holding of 83,380 bwin.party shares in his personal pension plan.

There are no other disclosures to be made under Listing Rule 9.6.13.

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