Oliver McIntosh, president and chief executive officer, SportsMax Limited. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

The Editor, Sir:

Re: Article titled 'SportsMax deal above board - Rousseau'

On Wednesday, July 23, 2008, an article titled 'SportsMax above board - Rousseau' was printed in The Gleaner that included a number of inaccuracies regarding the business relationship between SportsMax Limited, its parent company International Media Content Limited (IMC) and Caymanas Track Limited (CTL). Rather than go through the July 23 article and point out the inaccuracies, time would be better spent stating the facts of the relationship between the parties.

No licences granted

1. CTL has not procured any satellite services nor granted any licences to IMC and/or SportsMax for satellite services. There is no agreement that is "tentatively in place" for "provision of subject satellite services", as reported in The Gleaner article, between CTL and IMC/SportsMax.

2. CTL buys the right to utilise horseracing in its betting shops from international vendors, usually represented by the horseracing tracks themselves or an agent. CTL buys these rights based on the knowledge that there is a demand for certain tracks, that it will be able to sell betting to the public and that it will be able to make a profit. Payments for these rights are typically based on CTL paying a percentage of betting revenues to the seller of the rights. This does not include a tender process as CTL, in its sole discretion, decides to buy the rights, based on its economic value, as a product to be offered to CTL.

3. Phumelela International Gold (Phumelela) owns the betting and broadcast rights for certain horseracing tracks in the United Kingdom and South Africa. CTL had bought the rights for many years from Phumelela and offered betting to the public on the Phumelela tracks. Phumelela was paid an agreed percentage of betting revenues from bets placed on horseracing from Phumelela's tracks.

Broadcast rights

4. IMC's primary business is the acquisition and sale of broadcast rights. We have been in discussions with Phumelela regarding the acquisition of betting and broadcast rights since September, 2004. In May 2008, following the expiration of a related agreement between Phumelela and another UK company that sold rights into Jamaica, IMC acquired the betting and broadcast rights for Jamaica for horseracing coming from tracks controlled by Phumelela, subsequent to the acquisition of these rights by IMC, Phumelela issued a letter to betting services in Jamaica, which includes CTL and the licensed local bookmakers, that IMC had acquired the rights, and all payments were to be made directly to IMC. IMC has presented a draft agreement for the rights to the Phumelela tracks, under the same payment terms that CTL had been making to Phumelela. This agreement is a continuation of the previous agreement with Phumelela.

5. SportsMax has submitted two separate proposals to CTL that are unrelated to the rights agreement for the Phumelala tracks.

I am, etc,

OLIVER MCINTOSH

President & CEO

SportsMax Limited