Basel, 30 May, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

New President and Independent Headquarters for the EFP

Risto Nieminen has been elected new President of European Football Pool (EFP). EFP member lotteries have unanimously decided also to create an independent European Football Pool headquarters in Basel and to hire Thomas Büchler-De la Cruz as the full time Secretary General. The European Football Pool is the organization of European state lotteries participating in projects with UEFA and especially in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Effective May 4 in Portugal's Estoril, the EFP General Assembly unanimously elected Risto Nieminen, President and CEO of Finland's Veikkaus Oy as its new President. He and Veikkaus have long played a key role in the EFP’s continuing cooperation with UEFA. The outgoing President Dr. Dieter Leinmüller of Staatliche Toto-Lotto GmbH Baden-Württemberg has worked efficiently in helping to further establish the EFP as a valuable partner and association in the lottery and sports world. The EFP Board expressed their deep appreciation for Dr. Leinmüller’s strong and pleasant leadership within the Board and the general secretariat and are very pleased with his decision to remain an active member of the Board.

Independent EFP Headquarters
Another important decision was made during the meeting in Portugal with the General Assembly's unanimous decision to establish an independent office for EFP by hiring a full time staff and establishing independent headquarters. Since its creation in 1965 EFP had its offices within Intertoto and now the World Lottery Association, sharing staff with WLA. The importance of the projects and alliance with UEFA and increased workload at the EFP Secretariat has led the board and the General Assembly to this decision, a move that will further strengthen the EFP.

As of June 1, 2007, European Football Pool will have its new office in the main building of the Swiss Lottery Interkantonale Landeslotterie, Swisslos at Lange Gasse 20 in Basel, Switzerland. Effectively the same date, Thomas Büchler-De la Cruz will start his new task as full time Secretary General for European Football Pool.

As both the new President and the Secretary General said: “it will be a great pleasure and honour for us to lead this association and to serve the board and the members of the EFP and its partners during this important time ahead”.

About EFP:
The European Football Pool is the organization of European state lotteries participating in projects with UEFA and especially in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. As a long-standing partner of UEFA, it provides substantial financial contributions for the competition.

Read more about State gaming companies supporting the UEFA alliance; http://www.intertoto-cup.org/more/uicpresseinfo03_e.html

Contact:
European Football Pool, Lange Gasse 20, 4052 Basel, Switzerland, Phone: +41 61 284 1111
Thomas Büchler-De la Cruz, Secretary General, tb@intertoto-cup.org
www.intertoto-cup.org