Zynga Plus Poker and Zynga Plus Casino are the two new online gambling efforts from the social gaming titan which were announced to go live in the United Kingdom this year. The poker and casino web portals are viewable from United States computers, but will require players at least 18 years of age to be located in the UK before they can wager any real money. The real money gaming efforts in the United Kingdom by Zynga were announced earlier this year, and have finally come to fruition. While many changes are on the way and these early iterations of the UK online gambling websites are being used primarily as a marketing tool right now, officially, the social gaming and online gambling honeymoon has begun.
The marketing tag lines used to deliver Zynga’s mission statement for the respective sites are “Casino For The People” and “Poker For The People.” Known as the premier social gaming company in the world, Zynga is attempting to make it clear that they are delivering a social networking environment coupled with an offering of an online gambling option for real money. The company made several strategic deals with on and off-line gaming institutions in 2012, expanding from their successful origins of offering their multitude of social networking games primarily on sites like Facebook.
The launch of the two online gambling websites shows that the company will be firmly dedicated to online gambling for real money in the future. Its core business will probably still be selling virtual goods and offering free games on Facebook and the other social networks, but Zynga CEO Mark Pincus’ promise to offer real money online gaming have finally become a reality. The company is based out of San Francisco in the United States, and this past October announced one of their largest strategic interactive gaming partnerships. Bwin.party joined forces to launch the real money gaming sites in the United Kingdom, with the Zynga Plus Casino site to offer more than 180 games. Slots, roulette, blackjack and other traditional table games will be included.
And in a wise attempt to cash in on one of their greatest free play interactive gaming properties ever, Zynga will incorporate the familiar and incredibly popular FarmVille brand into at least one of the slot game offerings at their UK online casino. With no current federal legislation allowing online gaming in the United States as a whole, Zynga has been headed to markets like the United Kingdom. The company also filed for an Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability in Nevada, a process which is required before a company can be approved for an online interactive gaming license in the Silver State.
But since that process could take up to 18 months, they are moving full steam ahead in other virtual marketplaces. And even after the company is found to be suitable for a Nevada interactive gaming license, the actual licensing could take another 60 to 90 days to become reality. And that would only allow them to provide their virtual gaming expertise to residents and travelers in Nevada. Having access to the entire United Kingdom virtual gambling community has to make prospective and current Zynga shareholders happy, and can only bode well for the future of the company’s online gambling prospects in the United States.