Zynga Looking To Enter Online Gambling Market

[vansau]

Zynga Looking To Enter Online Gambling Market

If Zynga gets its way, you could be playing Zynga Poker for very real money sometime in the future.

Zynga has a well-deserved reputation for being able to suck up every nickel it can from players, even though <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115382-Zynga-Loses-150-on-Every-New-Paying-Customer>it loses $150 for every paying customer it gains. However, that figure may change in the future, as it's been revealed that the developer is looking into letting players gamble very real money with its virtual gambling games like Zynga Poker

A Zynga spokesperson explained to AllThingsD that Zynga Poker has more than 7 million daily players (with more than 30 million monthly players), and that the decision to move from virtual to real currency comes from user requests:

"We know from listening to our players that there's an interest in the real money gambling market. We're in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity."

This announcement comes after the company revealed plans for Zynga Casino which will serve as a hub for Zynga Poker and new titles like Zynga Bingo. However, whether or not full-blown online gambling will actually happen remains to be seen, since <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_Internet_Gambling_Enforcement_Act_of_2006>it's been illegal in the United States since 2006.

Source: AllThingsD via <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-01-23-zynga-in-online-gambling-talks>GamesIndustry.biz

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[Vault101]

I dont know if this is funny or sad...:/

 

[Sucal]

In another news, Parents of those who play Zynga's infamous facebook games have finally found a place to hide their wallets, so that massive bills of $4000 can no longer 'accidently' be run up. A Zynga spokesmen had this to say "So they think their safe do they... We shall see about that."

 

[Kakashi on crack]

Aren't there laws here in the U.s. making online gambling illegal?

*reads last line of article*

Yeahhhh... That's what I thought. Stupid Zynga

 

[weirdee]

Well, at least now they're being honest about the focus of their games.

 

[Gennadios]

People are putting way too much emphasis on gambling being illegal. They can take a page out of Second Life's or EVE Online's real to digital currency conversion and player trading methods.

Just repackage the whole thing as some kind of micro-transaction model and have their lawyers plug any holes they may find. Or better yet find an Indian tribe to use as a shell company. Plenty of them don't really have ancestral lands and such, they could argue for an internet presence.

 

[FireAza]

Well, this ain't good. Zynga have already shown they know exactly how to deign games purpose-built to be addictive. What manner of wickedness will be be unleashed when they get into gambling, something known to be addictive as it is?

 

[sniddy_v1legacy]

Invite a friend - earn free credit...

I just won a $5 pot - have an XXX on me

No thanks

 

[DEAD34345]

It's actually the Wikipedia page linked at the bottom that worried me the most. America really has a history of pushing through laws to protect big businesses, huh?

As for the actual main part of this article, I'm not really too fussed. At least with gambling games people are buying a chance of earning more money, rather than buying crappy pictures of things to look at in an even crappier game. I think they're being ripped off slightly less that way...