Online Gaming in the USA

GB Group PLC
02 October 2006


For immediate release: 2 October 2006


                                  GB GROUP PLC
                              ('GB' or the 'Group')
                                        
                      Statement re Online Gaming in the USA

New US legislation introduced on 30 September 2006, if signed into law, will
effectively make Online Gaming illegal in the USA.

One of GB's three business areas, DataAuthentication is a leading provider of
electronic age and identification services to a range of sectors including
Financial Services, Online Gaming and Mobile Telecommunications. Currently,
these are provided for the purpose of verifying the age and identity of UK
citizens only. GB's strategy however is to provide an International service for
verifying overseas citizens. GB's International verification service is due to
be launched this month and will be used for the verification of overseas
citizens in 21 countries.

An element of GB's expected future business, prior to the proposed new US
legislation, was the verification of age and identity of US citizens on behalf
of Online Gaming clients which will not now materialise. To put this into
context, however, the element of revenue that is included in forecasts for the
current year to 31 March 2007 in relation to Online Gaming in the USA is
£150,000 or 1% of a consensus Group revenue forecast* of £16.9 million and, in
the following year to 31 March 2008, is £500,000 or 2% of a consensus Group
revenue forecast* of £23.4 million. Accordingly, this is not regarded as
significant in terms of GB's longer term strategy.

In terms of the Group's existing Online Gaming business, regulators in the UK
and Europe have historically taken a different approach to US regulators and
structured regulation and licencing of Online Gaming in these territories is
well established. GB expects the effect of the new US legislation will be that
major Online Gaming operators will now concentrate their businesses in European
and other markets where Online Gaming is legal and where GB has a market leading
position. In addition, registration procedures to ensure compliance with
European legislation to prevent under-age gaming and promote social
responsibility, is expected to be tightened. Both of these moves are likely to
have a positive impact on GB's existing electronic age and identity verification
business.

Richard Law CEO commented

'GB's strategy for electronic age and identity verification is to provide a
service of the highest quality and reliability which is unobtrusive to the
public but enables businesses to verify their customers in seconds, providing
compliance with legislation and minimising identity fraud. New high growth
internet models, where registration takes place on line and paper proofs of
identity are ineffective, represent fertile ground for GB's services. Growth in
the market for electronic age and ID verification has exceeded our expectations
to date. The Board's view is that this continues to represent a real and
substantial opportunity for the Group.'

* Consensus of the Group revenue forecasts of three firms of stockbrokers

For further information, please contact:

GB Group plc
Richard Law, Chief Executive                                        01244 657333
Mona Navin-Mealey, Finance Director

Weber Shandwick Square Mile                                        020 7067 0700
Richard Hews
Helen Thomas

Website                                                             www.gb.co.uk


Notes to Editors

About URU (TM)

URU is an electronic identity verification service which was developed jointly
with BT and is DataAuthentication's principle offering. URU, which is powered by
GB's ID3 (TM) search engine and decision making technology, provides access to 
GB's comprehensive range of identity data and BT's high capacity web delivery. It
helps organisations to protect themselves from the growing problem of identity
theft and fraud, which is estimated to cost the UK economy over £1.7 billion per
annum. URU enables companies subscribing to the service to make an instant
decision whether to accept the identity claimed by any given individual and
confirm their age in seconds.

URU works by cross checking personal information provided by an individual at
the point of acquisition against a comprehensive range of datasources to confirm
that an individual is who they claim to be, live where they claim to live and
meet certain minimum legal age requirements.

No personal data is disclosed by the reference databases and as a result URU is
compliant with the Data Protection Act.

URU also provides a valuable audit trail demonstrating that the necessary checks
have taken place, thereby helping companies comply with legislation, including
the 2nd European Money Laundering Directive, Proceeds of Crime Act and Minimum
Legal Age requirements of certain industry sectors.

The addition of data from CallCredit also enables users of URU to incorporate
credit reference data.

As a result of legislation, new opportunities and social responsibility
requirements, the market for electronic ID verification is significant and
growing. Although an estimated 0.5 billion manual ID checks are conducted
annually in the UK, less than 3% of these are currently performed
electronically.

URU has demonstrated that electronic checks are more effective, less expensive
and more robust.

The market is moving towards electronic checks as fraudulent documents become
ever more sophisticated, more readily available and more difficult to check
manually. It is estimated that by 2010, the market for electronic ID checks
could be 300 million checks per annum.

GB works closely with trade and industry associations, such as the Finance and
Leasing Association, the Remote Gambling Association and the Financial
Technology Research Centre, to advise businesses that more robust processes can
prevent financial crime. We have worked closely with the Gaming Industry to
address social issues such as underage gambling and addiction and our Social
Responsibility Consultancy helps Gaming operators formulate best practice to
comply with regulatory requirements and improve profitability.

About GB Group plc

GB Group plc provides a range of products and services to enable organisations
to capitalise on one of their greatest assets - customer data. The Company has
expertise across a range of sectors and is able to transform customer data into
valuable information, enabling clients to make better, more informed decisions.

The development of innovative software and services, through to the provision of
the UK's most comprehensive consumer business databases - The National Register
(R) and the National Authentication Register - positions GB Group as a widely
acknowledged industry leader in its specialist markets.

We are constantly improving business processes by building on our core values of
Innovation, Quality and Excellence. This is reflected in our customer
satisfaction surveys and also through research, carried out by Manchester
Business School, which confirms our products are out performing the competition.

GB Group plc has three complementary offerings:

   • DataAuthentication helps businesses validate personal identity
    information and provides anti-fraud solutions to fight crime.


   • DataIntegrity helps companies capture and maintain accurate customer
    contact data, an essential foundation for any profitable customer
    relationship.


   • DataSolutions empowers companies to consolidate and analyse customer
    data from various sources, enabling them to make better, more informed
    decisions.

Established since 1989, GB's core competencies combined with industry sector
knowledge have enabled the company to deliver significant value to organisations
such as Standard Life, Scottish Power and TD Waterhouse in helping them derive
maximum value from their customer data and sustain real advantage over their
competition.

GB Group is supported by its key relationships with major organisations with
whom it works with on major initiatives (an example being British Telecom),
together with a team of highly talented and motivated staff successfully
delivering business solutions.

GB Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (www.gb.co.uk).




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            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange