On Friday, a spokesperson for the social gaming giant told All Things D that it is in discussions with several partners about a shift into the real-money online gambling market:
“We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga
Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than 7 million
people playing every day and over 30 million each month. 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.”
At present, Zynga raises revenue through advertising and the sale of
virtual goods, such as the purchase of virtual chips in Zynga Poker. The
company has maintained that it is happy with its business model and was not interested in going after a real-money space.
However, now that the Department of Justice has opened the door
for states in the U.S. to implement an online gambling platform, gaming
operators like Zynga could take advantage of an opportunity to generate
millions and maybe even billions of dollars in revenue.
Last October, Zynga announced it would be launching an umbrella
franchise called Zynga Casino, which will encompass its popular Zynga
Poker game, Zynga Bingo and future casino games. The virtual casino has
not opened yet, but could be a major cog in the company's real-money
strategy.
Zynga opened its initial public offering last month, selling 100,000
shares at $10 apiece. However, the stock price dropped to around $8
nearly immediately after it went public and has yet to climb above its
initial offering price. The stock saw an early increase of 5 percent
Friday morning when news of the online gambling interest broke.
From Pokernews
