Waukegan, Illinois.
January 7th, 2002

    WMS Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS), announced today that Steve DuCharme, 54, has been retained as a consultant to assist with compliance and gaming regulatory matters and future strategic growth opportunities.

    Mr. DuCharme, who begins his assignment with WMS immediately, was previously employed in gaming regulatory and law enforcement positions for 30 years, including 10 years as a member of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board and two years as its chairman. In addition, he served one term as the Chairman of the International Association of Gaming Regulators prior to his retirement in 2001.

    "As WMS continues to grow, Steve's knowledge of the gaming regulatory community and his experience in the evaluation of corporate regulatory compliance are a tremendous asset to assist our senior  management team, said Brian R. Gamache, President and Chief Executive 
Officer of WMS Industries Inc. "We are very pleased that he has elected to bring his expertise to the WMS team."

    Mr. DuCharme was first appointed to the Nevada State Gaming Control Board by Nevada Governor Bob Miller, and later served a two-year term as Chairman. He began his career in law enforcement in 1970 and he spent 20 years in various positions with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. DuCharme earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and earned an Associate degree in Law Enforcement from Clark County Community College.

    He is currently an instructor and advisor to the faculty of the National Judicial College, and is the past President of the Board of trustees for the Nevada Treatment Center, a non-profit service for substance abuse. Mr. DuCharme also serves as a member of the Board of
Directors and chair of the compliance committee for Vestin Group (Nasdaq: VSTN).

    Mr. DuCharme commented, "Based on my experience with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, I am aware that regulatory compliance can be challenging for gaming equipment manufacturers due to the large number of jurisdictions, each with its own regulatory body, in which they operate. I am impressed with the top-down emphasis placed on compliance and regulatory issues exhibited by WMS, starting with its Chairman on down. I look forward to playing an integral part in the continuing growth and expansion of the Company."

    WMS Gaming is headquartered in Waukegan, IL (847/785-3000) with regional offices in all major domestic gaming jurisdictions, as well as Barcelona, Spain, Johannesburg, South Africa and Sydney, Australia.

    WMS Industries Inc., designs, manufactures and markets video and reel spinning gaming devices and video lottery terminals.

    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning future business conditions and the outlook for the Company based on currently available information that involve risks and  uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the financial strength of the gaming industry, the expansion of legalized gaming into new markets and legislative and regulatory changes in existing gaming markets, the development, introduction and success of new games and new technologies and the ability to maintain the scheduling of such introductions, the occurrence of future software anomalies that affect the Company's games and the ability of the Company to correct such anomalies, the ability of the Company to qualify for and maintain gaming licenses and approvals and other risks more fully described under Part I. Item 1. "Business - Risk Factors"
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 

CONTACT: 

WMS Industries Inc. 
Scott D. Schweinfurth, 847/785-3760
sschweinfurth@wmsgaming.com
 - or -
Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated, New York
Joseph Jaffoni, Richard Land 
212/835-8500 
wms@jcir.com