“Real money gaming is a popular and well-regulated activity in the UK and we are allowing a partner to offer their games to adult users on the Facebook platform in a safe and controlled manner.”. Facebook intros real-money gambling Reuters 8 August 2012 Facebook Inc will allow users in Britain to wager real money on its service, opening its doors to gambling for the first time as revenue. Facebook has global policies relating to the promotion and facilitation of online gaming and gambling where money or money’s worth is involved. Facebook’s Online Gaming and Gambling Advertising Policy. Ads that promote online gambling and gaming, where anything of monetary value (including cash or digital/virtual currencies, e.g. See more of Real Casino - Free Slots on Facebook. Create New Account. Community See All. 911,867 people like this. Cash Master-Free Casino Games,Win Real Money. 2,015 likes 2 talking about this. Cash Master offers free cricket betting,casino and slot machines,lucky scratch cards and lottery games, and the.
Online poker players, don’t get excited just yet. Don’t start running around the neighborhood yelling about how your “One time” has finally come in.
Ok, fine, get a little excited.
Real Money Gambling Facebook Games
For the first time, Facebook is offering a game in which players can wager real money, not simply things like in-game currency or Facebook credits. The game is Bingo Friendzy, created by London-based Gamesys. It’s not poker, so that time has not come yet, but it is still a game in which users can gamble real money on the outcome. Right now, it is only available to residents of the United Kingdom who are over 18-years of age. In fact, Facebook users in other countries will not even be able to see the application.
Bingo Friendzy is the creation solely of Gamesys, maker of the popular Jackpotjoy Slots and Jackpotjoy Casino apps on Facebook, amongst others. Facebook is only the vehicle for offering the game to the public; the social networking behemoth was not involved in the development of the game.
A game like bingo makes sense as the starting point for real-money gaming on Facebook, largely because it is about as simple and casual a form of gambling as there is. After all, the stereotype of a bingo player is a senior citizen in a retirement village or a parishioner at the local church.
“Bingo is at the softer end of the gambling spectrum and online bingo often has chat forums alongside, so it’s an obvious match for Facebook,” Remote Gambling Association chief executive Clive Hawkswood told the Financial Times. “A lot of people have said why haven’t they done it before because there’s a difficulty in monetising what they have – this is one way of bringing in revenues.”
In the same article, Julien Codorniou, Facebook’s head of gaming for Europe, Middle East and Africa, added, “Gambling is very popular and well regulated in the UK . . . for millions of bingo users it’s already a social experience [so] it makes sense [for us] to offer that as well.”
A number of protections for users will be in place on Bingo Friendzy. According to TechCrunch, users will be required to verify their identities to prove that they are of age and located in the United Kingdom. Facebook also has what is called “age-gating” technology which prevents underage Facebook users from seeing the Bingo Friendzy activity of their friends. Thus, even if, say, a 30-year old Facebook user broadcasts every single game-related achievement to all his friends, none of his Bingo Friendzy activity will be visible to his 16-year old cousin.
A Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch, “Facebook is a place that allows people to connect and share. Real money gaming is a popular and well-regulated activity in the UK and we are allowing a partner to offer their games to adult users on the Facebook platform in a safe and controlled manner.”
Should this venture succeed, it could open the door to further real-money gaming on Facebook. In July, social gaming giant Zynga opened a tender for real-money poker with developers such as Microgaming, GTECH G2, Playtech, and Intralot. Zynga’s current play-money offering, Zynga Poker, is one of the most popular games on Facebook, drawing well over 100,000 play-money users per day, according to PokerScout.com.
Real Money Casino Facebook
Game developer Zynga announced plans to bring online gambling franchises to Facebook in the United Kingdom. What could this mean for online bingo players and gamblers in the US? Many think Zynga's move could clear the way for legalized online gambling in the United States. In the US legalization has taken place on a state by state basis. So far three states have legalized online gambling and ten states are discussing the legalization of internet gambling.
Zynga, the social gaming company famous for games like Farmville and Mafia Wars announced that the company plans to bring its platform to Facebook. Currently online is illegal in the US except for three states (Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey) so Zynga has formed a partnership with British gaming firm Bwin.party to release two games in the UK. If the venture is successful it could pave the way for the legalization of real money online gaming in the US.
In April Zynga introduced 'ZyngaPlusPoker' and 'ZyngaPlusCasino' and the company plans to release Facebook and mobile apps in the near future. Currently Facebook users in the UK and the US can 'gamble' but not with real money. People playing the Facebook version of 'Zynga Poker' may purchase chips but do not receive any payouts. In the real money games Facebook users will be taken to a new interface managed by Bwin. Players must verify their age and that they live in a country where internet gambling is legal.
Zynga hopes to convert their large userbase to real money gaming. These potential gamblers are part of a demographic that is willing to play online games for extended periods of time. At Zynga the need for innovation and new revenue streams is urgent. Since Zynga's IPO in 2011 the company has cut its workforce by 18%. Zynga has also closed several offices and its stock price has fallen as low as $2.50 in December. Zynga has hired a top gambling executive and has sealed the partnership with Bwin. The British company has extensive experience in running online gambling operations and dealing with regulators.
Zynga executives hope real money online gaming will change the company's fortunes. In the UK online gambling generates $3.4 billion annually. Morgan Stanley estimates that if online gambling becomes legal in the US the industry could generate $9.3 billion annually by 2020.
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