Optimal Payments Appoints Strategic Advisor for U.S. Online Gaming Guidance - Thomas Auriemma, former director of New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, to provide regulatory guidance

LONDON, MONTREAL and NEW YORK, March 12 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Optimal Payments Plc (LSE AIM: OPAY), a leading global online payments and risk management provider, has appointed Thomas Auriemma as an advisor to provide strategic and regulatory advice on current and future U.S. state regulation in regards to payment services for the online gaming industry.

Auriemma has over 28 years of experience in casino regulatory roles and is one of the few individuals who has been employed by both casino regulatory agencies in New Jersey. He served from 2002 until 2007 as director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), one of the world's leading casino regulatory agencies, and was deputy director of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission's Legal Division. He is currently a member of the Compliance Committee of Penn National Gaming, where he previously served as vice president/chief compliance officer, and as president of a number of its subsidiaries. Auriemma has also served as the secretary, vice chair and chair of the International Association of Gaming Regulators and is a member of the International Association of Gaming Advisors and the International Masters of Gaming Law.

"We are delighted to have Thomas join Optimal Payments," said Joel Leonoff, president and CEO, Optimal Payments. "With an increasing number of states currently exploring legalizing and regulating online gaming, we look forward to his guidance as we expand our reach across the U.S. His expertise and experience in the gaming industry will further strengthen our position as a leader among payment providers for the online gaming industry."

"I am honoured to work with a company that is a leading innovator among payments solutions providers, and committed to the protection of consumers and merchants," said Thomas Auriemma, advisor, Optimal Payments. "Optimal Payments has extensive expertise to offer state gaming regulators as they navigate the issues online gaming presents. The Company is primed to provide solutions that simultaneously protect consumers and safeguard the integrity of payments channels, without hampering the growth of this dynamic industry though over-regulation." 

About Optimal Payments

Optimal Payments is a leading global online payments and risk management provider. Trusted by businesses and consumers in almost 200 countries to move and manage billions of dollars each year, merchants use the NETBANX® processing service to simplify how they accept and settle credit card, direct-from-bank, and cash payments and the NETELLER® payment service to increase margins, capture new customers and increase their lifetime value. Being an independent provider has allowed the company to support tens-of-thousands of merchants around the globe across a wide range of industries. Optimal Payments Plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market, with a ticker symbol of OPAY. Subsidiary company Optimal Payments Ltd is authorised and regulated as an e-money issuer by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 900015).

For more information on Optimal Payments visit www.optimalpayments.com or subscribe at www.optimalpayments.com/feed follow us on Twitter @optimalpayments.

SOURCE: Optimal Payments Plc.

Media Contacts - Canada: Erin Cudmore, Zenergy Communications, [phone], [email protected]; Media Contacts - United States: Richard Anderson/Emily Simmons, Feintuch Communications, [phone] / [phone], [email protected]; Media Contacts - United Kingdom: Caroline Merrell / Shelly Chadda / Georgia Colkin, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, + 44 207 638 9571 / [phone], [email protected]; Investor Relations - United Kingdom: Jessica Stalley, Optimal Payments Plc, [email protected]