Thunderbird Announces Joint Development with Tamanaco Entertainment and Marketing/Distribution Agreement with Quick Draw Shuffler.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 22, 1999--

International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation (TSE:INB) is pleased to announce a joint venture with Tamanaco Entertainment C.A., a Venezuelan corporation. Thunderbird and Tamanaco have entered into a "Gaming Operations Agreement" to develop, own and operate casinos, bingo parlors and other gaming related operations in Venezuela.

The principals of Tamanaco Entertainment C.A. are Daniel Matos Romero (CEO-Tamanaco Entertainment C.A.) and Rafael Tudela Reverter (President-Hotel Tamanaco Inter-Continental), who are prominent businessmen in Venezuela. Tamanaco owns and manages hotels in Venezuela including the Hotel Tamanaco, a five star international hotel in Caracas with 580 rooms and convention facilities.

The Gaming Operations Agreement calls for the formation of various entities that will be owned by Thunderbird and Tamanaco on a 50/50 basis. Each of the Thunderbird-Tamanaco entities will seek licensing to engage in separate gaming operations throughout Venezuela. Venezuela is a regulated gaming market, with strict federal licensing requirements and a national gaming commission as established in the Venezuelan Law for the control of casinos, bingo parlors and slot machines. Venezuela has recently enacted legislation that has altered its gaming laws and regulations. One provision of the new law mandated the closing of all existing casinos in the country. This was accomplished in 1998. Under the new legislation, casino licenses in Venezuela are limited to five star hotels with 200 rooms or more located in "designated tourist areas". A local gaming referendum must also be passed as a condition to license a gaming establishment in a "designated tourist area". At this time, there are five designated tourist areas in mainland Venezuela, which have approved local gaming referendums. Venezuela has a population of 23 million and is seen as a natural extension of Thunderbird's growing operations in Latin America. For market comparison purposes, the Republic of Panama, where the Company is operating its four Fiesta Casinos, has a population of approximately 3 million.

Thunderbird is also pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an exclusive Marketing and Distribution Agreement with Quick Draw Shuffler LLC, to market and distribute a revolutionary "continuous" shuffler casino product in the United States and Central America. The "continuous" shuffler operates in either single deck or five deck format and discards are placed directly back into the shuffler after each game. The Quick Draw Shuffler has already attracted attention from casino operators because (1) it ensures a totally random shuffling system; (2) increases the number of games per hour; and (3) eliminates "card counting".

International Thunderbird Gaming Corporation is an owner and manager of international gaming facilities. Additional information about the Company is available on its World Wide Web site at www.intltbird.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Jack R. Mitchell, President and CEO 

Cautionary Notice: This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including without limitation, statements regarding potential revenue and plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's forward-looking statements include competitive pressures, unfavorable changes in regulatory structures, and general risks associated with business, all of which are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's documents filed from time-to-time with the TSE and other regulatory authorities.