In 2012, the combination of online gambling and social gaming is expected to come to fruition. According to a report in Venture Beat Magazine, one of the biggest stories of the year so far is the fact that online gambling developers are now exploring their options in the social gaming market.
At the recent iGaming Summit, this was an important topic among attendees. With Zynga allegedly in talks with Wynn and IGT Acquiring Double Down Interactive, more and more attention is being given to the joining of these two markets.
It seems to be about time, as well. Over the course of the past few years, Facebook has become one of the biggest platforms for online gamers. Even casinos and poker games have popped up on the platform, seeing millions of users play for fake cash prizes. So, it only seemed to be a matter of time before social gaming started to grab the attention of real gambling operators.
“Social gaming meets [real gambling] is the high ground of the future,” says Simon Burridge of Virgin Interactive.
It won’t be difficult to merge the two markets. There is an existing fanbase in the social gaming world, especially in play-money casinos like Zynga Poker. All that needs to happen is a shift in attention from these users, from their social games to software that requires real money deposits.
