INTERNATIONAL PURSUIT CORPORATION
PRESS RELEASE
EXBET RECEIVES FINANCIAL BETTING LICENSE
Toronto - February 15, 2000 - International Pursuit Corporation (TSE-IPJ) is pleased to announce that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Exbet.com Ltd. (Exbet.com), Cbet.com (Cook Islands) Ltd. (Cbet.com), has received an Exemption Notice issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Cook Islands, permitting it to operate a business of tax-free fixed-odds financial betting via the Internet.
Exbet.com will be the first company to offer a comprehensive fixed-odds betting service on financial stock indices and eventually a whole range of equity and foreign exchange related bets. Exbet.com is affiliated to Regent Pacific Group Ltd., a company listed on the Hong Kong and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges and controlled by Internet financier Jim Mellon.
Exbet.com intends to be the market leader in fixed-odds financial betting by establishing a round-the-clock financial betting service on a variety of financial indices. Cbet.com will offer fixed-odds on bets ranging from one-touch, no-touch, range and win, place, quinella, on combinations of market indices selected by customers on the www.cbet.com Web site.
Fixed-odds financial betting offers unique advantages over other speculative tools such as futures, options or spread betting. Clients? risk is limited to the amount they have staked on a bet, yet payouts are often many multiples of the initial stakes. Cbet.com?s betting service offers clients the ability to customize their own bets by entering expiry dates and barrier levels into the Web site, and to calculate the payouts of their bets in realtime. A number of spread betting Internet based Web sites exist today none of which provide the limited risk, range of bets, leverage or tax-free features that Exbet.com and its sister site, Cbet.com, will offer.
The Cbet.com Web site has the unique advantage of tax-free betting to its clients, thereby permitting Cbet.com to offer highly competitive payouts to clients. Numerous examples of financial bets available on the Cbet.com Web site conclusively show distinct payout advantages over comparable listed speculative instruments.
Exbet.com is proud to be associated with the Cook Islands jurisdiction which has recently emerged as a leading and progressive e-commerce jurisdiction with strong political and legal foundations. The Cook Islands are a self-governing jurisdiction in association with New Zealand, whom retains responsibility for external affairs and defense. The Cook Islands Government is carried out by an elected parliament and the Cook Islands legal system is common law and is closely based on applicable statutes of England.
Cbet.com is expected to go live shortly once beta-testing of the www.cbet.com site is complete. Beta-testing of the site is conducted via the www.gamebet.com fantasy betting game where participants can open virtual accounts and win cash prizes.
Exbet.com is also in the process of forming a subsidiary Exbet.com Finanzwetten GmbH in Feldkirch, Austria. Exbet.com Finanzwetten GmbH will apply for a bookmakers license from the government of Vorarlberg, Austria in order to operate the German language www.finanzwetten.at financial betting service.
Exchangebet.com Holdings Ltd., the intermediate holding company for Exbet.com Ltd., has recently entered into a letter of intent with Pursuit, whereby Pursuit, subject to regulatory approval, will acquire fifty (50%) percent of Exbet.com. Both companies are proceeding with all the necessary steps to complete the transactions and the issuance of the license to Cbet.com was a key step in completion of the transaction.
Pursuit's other assets include a Web site called Stockset.com (which is under agreement to be sold for $500,000), a development stage copper property in the Philippines and exploration mineral properties in Indonesia.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
G. E. Creber
President and Chief Executive Officer |
