There has been much commentary in the press and on blogs about Zynga’s anticipated and perhaps rather late entry into the Internet gambling(iGaming) business. This topic has been discussed for years and it is finally here. Although Zynga is the 600 pound social/freemium game company in the room they are not the first cross over company to have a social/freemium business and an Internet gambling business under one roof. Gamesys’ Jackpotjoy was one of the first “true” crossover entries into the combined social and iGaming realm. However, Gamesys has come from the opposite direction having been in the UK Internet gambling business for some years. Betable is an example of a hybrid introducing third party freemium game content within their Internet gambling platform. From all indications Zynga’s predecessors have not witnessed a meteoric adoption of gambling by the social/freemium sector. So the question remains why now for Zynga and what are the long and short term goals for the initiative?
What Does Zynga’s Launch Of An Internet Gambling Business Really Mean?
Bwin.Party Launching A Zynga Branded Internet Gambling Business – The fact that Zynga is using a Bwin.Party gambling platform and not a Zynga gambling platform indicates how tepid Zynga’s iGaming launch really is. In press releases Zynga is very open about this acknowledging that their social game platform, development resources, games, marketing acumen, etc. are not iGaming enabled and not appropriate for Internet gambling. It also appears that Zynga is not actually operating the iGaming business. Essentially, Zynga’s overall resource commitment to the iGaming business sector is relatively insignificant. The details of the business deal between Bwin.Party and Zynga are unclear. However, it is most likely a flat annual fee and a revenue share where Bwin.Party receives most of the proceeds.
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