All abord the London-Asia express

I hope they still have a bit in Betex

"Betex (Group) plc - BETEX WINS 2nd PROVINCIAL STATE LOTTERY CONTRACT


NEWSTRACK ANNOUNCEMENT 22 DECEMBER 2005

BETEX GROUP PLC
("BETEX" OR THE "COMPANY")


BETEX WINS SECOND PROVINCIAL STATE LOTTERY CONTRACT IN
CHINA


Betex, the Asia facing gaming company, announces the signing of it's second
contract to co-manage a Provincial State Sports Lottery in China, having
reached agreement to acquire a management contract in the province of Hebei. In
so doing the Company reinforces its position as the only Western Company to
obtain an operable involvement in the Sports lottery in China.

Betex's wholly foreign owned enterprise ("WFOE")*, Beijing Global Sports
Management Company Limited ("BGSM") has agreed for the assignment of an
exclusive co-management agreement from Beijing Sports Investment Consulting Co.
Limited ("BSIC "), a local Chinese company which currently holds the 10 year
agreement, valid to April 2010, with the Hebei Sports Lottery Ticket Management
Center ("HSMC"). The HSMC has confirmed its agreement to the assignment of the
agreement.

Under the contract BGSM will receive a management fee of 1.3% of the turnover
of the Lottery during the remaining term of the agreement. The current estimate
of the annualized turnover of the Hebei Sports lottery is approximately GBP120
million. BGSM will retain 80% of the total income with the remaining 20% being
paid to Betex's local partners in China.

Betex has agreed to pay a total of RMB38 million (approximately GBP2.65
million)to acquire the management contract, with RMB 8 million payable on
completion,RMB 20 million payable within 2 months of completion, and the final
RMB 10million payable within 5 months of completion.

BGSM will provide expertise and advice to HSMC on gaming, the installation of
new hardware, new software for lottery terminals and on the introduction of new
lottery games with the intention of increasing the Lottery's turnover. As part
of its management role BGSM will assist the HSMC to increase the number of
draws from less than 20 a week to one every 5 - 10 minutes by introducing games
such as Keno** which proved very successful when piloted in another province of
China (Guangxi).

The province of Hebei encircles the city municipalities of Beijing and
Tianjing, and has a population of approximately 63,300,000, of which
approximately 20,100,000 are classified as living in urban areas. The turnover
of the Hebei Sports lottery is estimated to be between 9 and 12 times larger
than the Sports lottery in Guizhou, the province in which Betex secured its
first contract. The State Sports & Welfare lottery are the only legal forms of
gaming in China with revenues of $4.8 billion in 2004, and are forecast to grow
at around 20% per annum.

Dr Johnny Hon, Chairman of Betex commented:

"This is a major development for Betex. Our strategy is to build the Company
into a market leader in the provision of gaming services in Asia, and this
agreement is evidence of the Company's ability to capitalize and extend on its
initial success in Guizhou. We will continue to devote the Company's resources
to investing in similar ventures and we are confident that further excellent
opportunities will be available to Betex in China, and elsewhere in Asia."


The Directors of the Issuer accept responsibility for this announcement.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Peter Greenhill, CEO Simon Robinson/Ana Ribeiro
Betex Group plc Parkgreen Communications
Tel: 020 7510 4666 Tel: 020 7493 3713

Tony Drury
St Helen's Capital
Tel 020 7628 5582

Notes to Editors

Hebei


Hebei is a coastal province in the North East of China, that encircles the City
municipalities of Beijing and Tianjing, and is bounded to the south by
Shandong, to the east by Liaoning, to the west by Shanxi, and to the north by
Inner Mongolia. The population is approximately 63,300,000 (of which urban
population comprise about 32 percent). The capital is Shijiazhuang; other main
cities are Tangshan, Handan, Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Qinhuangdao, Baoding.

* A wholly foreign owned enterprise ("WFOE") is the way non-Chinese companies
may invest in China.

**Keno is a simple game enjoyed by the casual gambler due to the excitement of
trying to land a large payout from a minimal investment. In the most common
form of the game a player must pick a set of 1 - 20 numbers that they think
will be drawn from a range of numbers 1 to 80. After the draw, the number of
matched numbers determines whether or not you have won, and the size of the
win.

"