VeCommerce wins the double with Littlewoods Bet Direct

Announces second major contract in the European wagering market

VeCommerce Limited (PRWEB) August 29, 2002 -commerce solutions, has confirmed its second major European contract to provide its NLSR solutions to the global wagering markets.

VeCommerce will supply Littlewoods Bet Direct, the sports betting arm of Sportech plc, with a solution based upon it's award winning voice enabled wagering application, VeBet. The system will allow users to check prices and bet on horses, greyhounds and soccer and will commence commercial operations early next year.

It is VeCommerce's first 'transaction based' wagering contract, and will generate revenues from each call handled by VeBet.

The system allows users to talk directly to Littlewoods Bet Direct's wagering systems, removing the need for callers to queue for an available operator to answer their call. Using the latest in speech recognition and communications technology, a punter could say, "Give me a price for 'Beckham' to score first?" or "I'll have a tenner on 'Feet So Fast' to win."

Steve Taylor, Director of Sports Betting, Sportech plc said, "By adopting such an innovative solution, we are delivering on our business strategy of maximising our brand value and developing new and exciting channels to market. VeCommerce is clearly the market leader in this industry and has the proven experience to enable us to proceed to full commercial operations as quickly as possible and with minimal risk."

The new system will significantly reduce Littlewoods Bet Direct's cost of processing each transaction whilst allowing their customers to place their bets from any telephone; anywhere and at any time.

VeCommerce Managing Director, Paul Magee said, "In a short space of time, Littlewoods Bet Direct has become a key player in the UK gaming industry. It is very exciting for VeCommerce to be part of their growth strategy as new and exciting solutions are offered to punters in the UK gaming markets."

VeBet is already in operation at a number of leading wagering organisations around the world, including a number of TAB's in Australia, Ladbrokes in the UK and MEC in the USA. First deployed in Australia in 2000, VeBet has proven itself to be robust and scalable by easily handling well over a million bets successfully each month.

Magee continued, "The contract with Littlewoods Bet Direct reinforces our long term strategy of leveraging the Australian success of our solutions into selected overseas markets. With Aussie bettors placing their wagers quickly, easily and reliably using VeBet, I am confident that Littlewoods Bet Direct and their customers will enjoy the same benefits."

Application development will take place in Australia, with localisation and implementation being undertaken by VeCommerce's European operations in the coming months.

-ENDS -

About VeCommerce - the future is hear®
VeCommerce Limited (ASX:VCM), is a global leader in the provision of natural language speech recognition (NLSR) and voice enabled e-commerce solutions. With over 20 years experience in the communications and call processing industries, the company's name says it all, reflecting what VeCommerce offers the market.

VeCommerce provides business solutions that allow consumers to simply say what they want to an organisation's computer systems using any telephone. This results in complicated but 'routine' transactions being completed automatically - significantly reducing the cost of each transaction while enhancing customer satisfaction through an easy to use, friendly and consistent service.

VeCommerce clients include the Australian Tax Office, TAB Queensland, TAB Limited, TABCORP, SATAB, TOTETAS, ACTTAB, Motor Accidents Authority, NEC, Auckland Co-op Taxis, Ministry of Social Development (NZ), MEC (USA) and Ladbrokes (UK).

More information about VeCommerce can be found by visiting the company's web site at www.vecommerce.com

About Littlewoods Bet Direct
Littlewoods Bet Direct, owned by Sportech plc, is one of the UK's fastest growing telephone and internet sports betting operators. Littlewoods Bet Direct was established in July 1998 and has 260,000 registered customers.

More information can be found at www.betdirect.net or at www.sportech-plc.co.uk.

Media enquiries
Paul Magee, Managing Director, VeCommerce Limited, tel: +61 2 9428 9555
email: mailto:paul.magee@vecommerce.com.au; or

Michael Nolan, General Manager, Europe, VeCommerce Limited, tel:+353 868 226 983
email: mailto:michael.nolan@vecommerce.com

Nick Flude, Marketing Manager, VeCommerce Limited, tel: +61 2 9428 9903
email: mailto:nick.flude@vecommerce.com.au; or

Dolores Diez, Rivers of Communication, tel: +61 3 9572 4552 / 0417 330 881
email: mailto:dolores@riversofcom.com; or

Suzanne Judge, Corporate Communications, Sportech, tel: +44 151 288 3059

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