Zynga Fielding Bids From Potential Real Money Gaming Partners
Jul 28, 2012 Online Gaming Online Poker
As per the latest buzz in the gaming industry, Zynga, the gaming who has developed popular poker apps for Facebook, unveiled a tender for a real money poker platform. While several other online gaming developers like Playtech and Microgaming have also opened their tenders, Zynga aims at offering legitimate poker games with this move.
EGR (eGaming Review) reported that the noted software companies GTECH G2 and Playtech have already submitted their bids to offer the platform. Playtech is considered to be the leader in providing software for iPoker network, while GTECH G2 is well known in the industry for International Poker Network behind Yahoo! UK, Sporting Bet and Bet-at-Home. Though, Microgaming is out of the top ten bidders, but it has the record-serving tenure in online poker companies in the industry.
Earlier in the month of January, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus confirmed its interest for the real money gaming through the website AllThingsD.com, saying,
“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.”
Zynga, however, is well known for its games on Facebook, such as Farmville, Words with Friends, Mafia Wars, and particularly Zynga Poker in poker industry. There are some other games that the company is offering on its own site Zynga.com, as well as on Google+, and mobile devices.
Although, Zynga Poker has no real-money games, yet it’s the most popular online poker game in the world. Zynga Poker also claims that it has the highest grossing game on Android or iOS platforms.
While Zynga is all prepared to release its quarterly financial results, it is expected that the report will show a 24 percent gain in revenues for the second quarter versus the same period last year. As, Zynga is tied closely to Facebook, the results will have affect on its stock. Facebook announced its IPS in December at $10 per share but later it dropped to record low as $4.45 at one point. While in the month of June Bloomberg article, Facebook revealed that its revenue has suffered because the users are jumping on the site via mobile devices, rather than personal computers which derive the vast majority of its revenue.
Cowen analyst Doug Creutz added his comments in the same article by saying, “Consumer preferences may be switching decisively to mobile games given that quality is similar, if not better, and mobile games have the added advantage of being playable at any time, anywhere.”
Millionaire tech investor Jason Calacanis, who played at the 2012 WSOP in Las Vegas this summer, said, “I would predict Zynga becomes the number one player in online poker,” he said. “It will be a race between Zynga and Pokerstars.”
