LOTTOMATICA ANNOUNCES FIRST-HALF 2008 RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED

EBITDA represents operating income plus depreciation, amortization and write-downs and other non-cash items. EBITDA is considered an alternative performance measure that is not a defined measure under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and may not take into account the recognition, measurement and presentation requirements associated with IFRS. We believe that EBITDA assists in explaining trends in our operating performance, provides useful information about our ability to incur and service indebtedness and is a commonly used measure of performance by securities analysts and investors in the gaming industry. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of our performance or to cash flows as a measure of our liquidity. As we define it, EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.
2 $/€ FX average: 1.33 in 1H’07; 1.54 in 1H’08

ROME (ITALY) - PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND (US), July 31, 2008 – The Board of Directors of Lottomatica S.p.A., chaired by Mr. Lorenzo Pellicioli, today approved the consolidated accounts for the first half of 2008, which ended June 30, 2008.

Lorenzo Pellicioli, Chairman & CEO of Lottomatica Group, commented:“This is a very impressive set of results, delivered in the face of a difficult economic climate. We have shown that we can generate growth and profitability by leveraging off our financial flexibility, diversified product portfolio, and market leadership to take advantage of new opportunities, as well as continuing to focus on excellence in our core activities.”

Stefano Bortoli, CFO of Lottomatica Group, said: “The Group remains in a financially sound position, and I am pleased to report that during the first half, we have made very encouraging progress, and we recorded an exceptional 59% earnings-per-share growth. Going into the second half of the year, we are confident of delivering results in line with our stated objectives. We have secured a number of new contracts and key contract extensions, which provide strong support for our top line going forward.”

Group revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008 totaled €927.7 million, including approximately €410.6 million from GTECH and €517.1 million from Lottomatica. Overall, revenues grew 11% year-over-year, and 16% on a constant currency basis. Revenues from Lottomatica grew 26.8% year-over-year.

Reported EBITDA was €399.4 million, up 5% compared to the first half of 2007, with a 43% margin. At constant currency, EBITDA was up 10%.

Operating income was €250.0 million for the first half of 2008, up 4% over the same period last year. Operating income margins were approximately 27%. At constant currency, operating income was €253 million, up 6% versus the same period last year.

Net income after minorities was €78.0 million, up 59% over the first half of 2007, primarily due to the reduction in the effective tax rate in Italy.

Contract Extension in Ireland
On July 31, GTECH signed a two-year contract extension with An Post National Lottery Company in Ireland, a GTECH customer since 1987. The extension will commence in January 2009. The Lottery estimates the contract extension will generate approximately €28 million in revenue for GTECH.

GTECH Operating Results and Business Highlights
At constant currency, GTECH’s first half 2008 revenues were €455 million, compared to €427 million in the first half of 2007. As reported, GTECH contributed €410.6 million of revenue, with €347.1 million from the Lottery segment, €48.5 million from Gaming Solutions, and €15.0 million from Interactive. Same-store revenue growth in the first six months was 4%, with same-store revenue growth of 3% in the first quarter, and 6% growth in the second quarter of this year. In the second quarter of 2008, U.S. same-store service revenue was up 2%, versus the second quarter of 2007.

As reported, EBITDA for the first half of 2008 amounted to €139 million. At constant exchange rates, EBITDA for the first six months of 2008 was €158 million, compared to €159 million in the first half of 2007.

In the first half of 2008, GTECH retained key lottery customers, expanded its international presence through new business ventures in Taiwan and Ghana, and introduced new products in Poland, New Zealand and Mexico.

During the first six months, GTECH signed a new long-term contract with the Michigan Lottery, and extended agreements with Veikkaus Oy in Finland and Societe de la Loterie de la Suisse Romande in Switzerland. In addition, GTECH successfully launched an interactive system for the New Zealand Lotteries, as well as a five-minute Keno game with Totalizator Sportowy in Poland.
In Mexico, Pronosticos para la Asistencia Publica awarded GTECH Printing Corporation (GPC) two contracts for instant-ticket printing. Lotteries including those in Florida, Oregon, and Washington also selected GPC for a portion of their instant-ticket printing.

During the half year, GTECH expanded its sports-betting reach with two new contracts. GTECH successfully implemented the first legalized sports lottery in Taiwan with Taipei Fubon Bank, with more than 1,000 retailers processing sports wagers to date. GTECH also signed a contract to implement the first online sports-betting wagering system utilizing GTECH GO™ in Ghana, which is expected to launch in October 2008.

Additionally, GTECH completed the majority acquisition of two interactive gaming businesses, Boss Media AB and St Enodoc Holdings Ltd. Since acquisition completion, revenue growth for both companies in the second quarter has been in line with GTECH’s expectations.

Also in the Interactive segment, GTECH’s Finsoft subsidiary has demonstrated considerable growth since it was acquired in July 2007. Since that time, Finsoft has increased its customer base from 17 to 26 operators, and the number of gaming shops that it supports by 40%. In the first half of 2008, Singapore Pools went live with GTECH’s Altura® terminals hosting Finsoft’s sports-betting module.

Also in the first six months, GTECH completed the acquisition of the Atronic group of companies.

After the first half of 2008, GTECH signed a four-year integrated services contract to provide new lottery technology and ongoing services to the California Lottery. GTECH expects to receive revenues in the range of $220 million to $250 million over the extension period.

Lottomatica Operating Results and Business Highlights
Lottomatica delivered significant revenue and EBITDA growth in the first half of 2008, in the Lottery, Sports Betting, and the Gaming Solutions businesses.

Revenues grew 26.8% to €517.1 million, from €407.7 million in the first half of 2007. EBITDA grew to €260 million from €222 million in the first half of 2007. Growth was driven primarily by the expansion of Scratch & Win, Gaming Solutions, and fixed odds sports-betting.

Lotto and instant-ticket wagers grew 7.3% to €7.9 billion in the first half of 2008, from €7.3 billion for the same period last year, as the strong growth in Instants more than offset the small decline in Lotto.

Total Lotto wagers were €3.0 billion, slightly below the €3.1 billion in the first half of 2007. Lotto revenues were €195.0 million, compared to €204.0 million in the same period last year.

The continued strong performance of instant tickets resulted in sales of approximately €4.9 billion, compared to sales of approximately €4.2 billion in the first half of 2007. More than 1.3 billion Scratch & Win tickets were sold in the first half of 2008, compared to 1.2 billion in the same period last year. The average price point grew to approximately €3.7, compared to €3.4 in the previous year, mainly driven by the introduction of a second €10 lottery ticket in January 2008. Revenues from the Instant Lottery business totaled €171.7 million, compared with €147.6 million during the first half of 2007, an increase of 16%.

Pool games and betting generated €70.3 million of revenues from €367.8 million of wagers in the first half of 2008, due to the strong performance of the fixed odds sports-betting operations, which commenced in August 2007. At the end of the first half of this year, all 1,150 fixed odds sports-betting points-of-sale were operational.

Revenues from Gaming Solutions were €37.2 million compared to €9.9 million last year. This was driven by the increased placement of Amusement with Prize (AWP) machines, from approximately 32,200 machines installed at the end of 2007, to 41,800 machines installed as of June 30, 2008.

After the close of the first half of 2008, Lottomatica, in cooperation with Boss Media, launched a new Poker network under the recently-released internet skill gaming legislation in Italy.

Consolidated Cash Flow, Net Financial Position, and Shareholders’ Equity
Net Cash Flows from Operating Activities generated €177 million in the first six months, after having paid €52 million in additional taxes compared to the same period last year, primarily due to a net increase in cash tax paid based upon 2007 profit. During the first half of 2008, the Group invested €87 million in capital expenditures and €205 million in acquisitions. In addition, the Group paid €125 million in dividends to shareholders, made net interest payments of €95 million, and made €39 million of share repurchases. At June 30, 2008, Lottomatica Group had a Net Financial Position of €2.67 billion, compared to €2.45 billion as of March 31, 2008. Consolidated shareholders' equity totaled €1.57 billion.

Additional Information: Second-Quarter Results
Group revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008 totaled €479.2 million, including approximately €215.4 million from GTECH and €263.8 million from Lottomatica. Overall, revenues grew 19.7% versus the second quarter last year.

The Group’s EBITDA was €194.8 million with an EBITDA margin of 40.6%. Operating income was €115.4 million for the quarter, up 16.3% over the same period last year. Net income was €48.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, compared to €23.1 million in the second quarter of 2007.

GTECH revenues for the second quarter of 2008 totaled €215.4 million, including €173.5 million from Lottery, €29.5 million from Gaming Solutions, and €12.4 million from Interactive. Revenues in the second quarter of 2007 totaled €203.1 million. Approximately 52% of GTECH’s service revenues in the current quarter were derived from U.S. dollar denominated contracts. On a constant currency basis, GTECH revenues for the second quarter increased by 17% compared to the same period last year. Same-store service revenue growth was 6% compared to the same period last year, averaging 2% and 12% growth in the U.S. and International regions, respectively, and 4% growth in Gaming Solutions service revenue.

Lottomatica revenues grew 33.9% to €263.8 million, from €197.1 million in the second quarter of 2007. Lotto and instant-ticket wagers grew 9% to €3.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008, from €3.6 billion in the same period last year. Lotto game wagers were comparable to the second quarter of 2007 at €1.5 billion. Instant-ticket wagers were approximately €2.4 billion, compared to approximately €2.0 billion in the same period last year. Lotto revenues were €97.9 million, substantially in line with the same period last year, while Instant Lotteries revenues were €83.8 million, compared to €71.1 million during the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 17.8%.

Other Information
In December 2003, Lottomatica issued a €360 million bond that is due on December 22, 2008. The Euro bond has a fixed coupon payment of 4.80%, payable annually each December.

Declaration
The manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports, Stefano Bortoli, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, books, and accounting records.

Lottomatica is a market leader in the Italian gaming industry and one of the largest Lottery operators in the world based on total wagers and, through its subsidiary GTECH Corporation, is a leading provider of lottery and gaming technology solutions worldwide. Together, the Company is the only vertically integrated full service lottery company. Lottomatica is majority owned by De Agostini, which belongs to a century-old publishing and media services group. Lottomatica is listed on the Stock Exchange of Milan under the trading symbol “LTO”. In 2007, the Company had approximately €1.7 billion in revenues and 5,900 employees in over 50 countries when combined with GTECH.

Lottomatica Group Consolidated Income Statement six months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007

Lottomatica Group Consolidated Income Statement three months ended June 30, 2008 and 2007

Lottomatica Group Consolidated Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007

Lottomatica Group Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the periods ended June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2007