In January, an article pointed out that Caesars Entertainment and International Gaming Technology (IGT) were betting $700 million that real money gambling will eventually come to Facebook. IGT also purchased social gaming company Double Down for an estimated $500 million. IGT is a major slot machine manufacturer and game developer. In December the US Justice Department cleared the way for online gambling. The combination of the prospect of real money Facebook gaming and legal internet gaming in the US has the gaming industry salivating. Since half of all Americans are on Facebook, the potential for player acquisition can easily be seen, and sites like BingoHouse have already opened their own fan pages. Facebook has 800 million active users around the world.
Some gaming industry experts say that given the number of Facebook users and the popularity of gaming apps, Facebook could become the ultimate player acquisition tool. Gaming companies and their affiliate partners are already trying to set themselves up to take full advantage of social gaming. Facebook is particularly attractive to gaming companies and affiliates because of the brand loyalty and trust by Facebook users. Although there have been complaints from privacy advocated about Facebook the naysayers are a clear minority.
Facebook users are more than willing to download and share many applications. Experts say that users are particularly fond of gaming applications. The success of game developer Zynga and the immense popularity of its gaming apps are proof that once real money gaming comes to Facebook, the opportunities will be huge. Zynga Poker is easily one of the most popular games on on the platform, and has millions of regular players. In addition Zynga launched a new bingo game on Facebook that was an instant hit. Some industry observers say that once the US decides to legalize and regulate online poker
Zynga will have the brand recognition and market share to dominate the poker sector.
Large gaming companies Like Caesar’s are setting up virtual casinos on Facebook. The move is part of an overall player acquisition strategy. Players signing up at Caesar’s Facebook casino provide the gaming giant with their contact information when they download the casino application. Caesar’s will have a large player database ready when real money gaming finally comes to social networks. If Caesar’s sets up other online casinos, they can use the same Facebook database to market their brands. There are
over 1.5 million Likes for Caesar’s casino. Zynga’s Texas Hold ‘Em is currently the most popular game on Facebook and has over 7 million daily players.
Converting even a small number of these players would generate huge profits. Facebook’s massive gaming audience makes it a perfect tool for player acquisition once full legalization of online gambling takes place in the US. Social gaming will provide gaming companies with opportunities never seen before.