New poll: When will Zynga introduce real-money gambling?
With share price dropping below US$2.50, will the move to real money be accelerated?
When the market closed last Friday, Zynga’s share price had fallen to US$2.48, representing an 83% drop from its March peak and a drop of more than 70% on the price at which it floated last year.
The rapid decline, coupled with the departure of a number of executives, has led to speculation that the social gaming giant could turn to real-money gambling sooner than expected in an effort to spark a revival in its fortunes.
While Zynga Casino general manager Lo Toney said ahead of last December’s IPO that the business had no plans for real-money gambling, this position has changed over the last 12 months and chief executive Mark Pincus (pictured) admitted that – subject to licensing approval – Zynga would launch real-money products to the international market in the first half of 2013.
In the meantime the operator has already dipped its toes into the real-money market through a licensing deal with Scientific Games subsidiary MDI Entertainment which will see the introduction of lottery games using Zynga brands including Farmville and Zynga Slingo.
This could be a sign that it hopes to accelerate its move into real-money, with July’s poker tender pointing towards the same end, however rumoured interest in bwin.party’s Ongame network was not fulfilled as the network was sold to Amaya Gaming for up to 25m last week.
The operator has also already recruited Maytal Ginsburg Olsha from 888 to head up its real-money project, but the pieces of the puzzle might not have fallen into place in time for a 2012 launch.
Still, recent pressures, including the departure of chief operating officer John Schappert and the loss of chief marketing and revenue officer Jeff Karp to GSN, may at least move the launch towards the start of Pincus’ H1 2013 projection.
That said, it is unclear whether Zynga is satisfied with its progress on the real-money poker front, or indeed whether it is still keen to establish the land-based partnership hinted at by Pincus in March before it takes the plunge.
When do you believe Zynga will make the move into real-money gambling? To have your say, vote in the poll on the right-hand side of the page or visit the eGaming Review LinkedIn Group.