Zynga, one of the world’s largest providers of social games, recently decided to pull back from plans to enter the real-money gambling industry. Reports out of Nevada confirm the company withdrew its initial application for an online poker license in the state, confirming the retraction strategy is underway.
Zynga was one of the pioneers of the social gaming industry, and achieved critical early success with the launch of its popular Farmville game on Facebook and other social media platforms. But as competitors began providing their own gaming options to social media gurus, Zynga began to lose loyal users along with millions in revenue.
The company later entered the social-money gaming industry, and intended to follow through with real-money versions of the games. Zynga reached an agreement with Facebook to begin rolling out real-money games in the UK, which later would expand to Canada and other popular gaming destinations.
However, Don Mattrick took over as CEO of Zynga earlier this summer, and readjusted the company’s overall strategy. The former Xbox executive and Vancouver native, Mattrick decided to shore up Zynga’s social gaming business before expanding into real-money gambling applications.
The decision to withdraw from the Nevada gambling market was expected, and was authorized by the company’s official announcement.
“Zynga is making the focused choice not to pursue a license for real money gaming in the United States. Zynga will continue to evaluate all of its priorities against the growing market opportunity in free, social gaming, including social casino offerings.”
Zynga also made a pointed decision not to apply for gambling licenses in New Jersey or Delaware where online gambling sites will go live later this year.
