Zynga Stock Soars As Platform Begins Real-Money Online Gambling

It had been reported for months that Zynga was close to allowing real money gambling on their social network platform of games, and on Wednesday those reports became reality. Zynga launched their real-money games in the UK, with the help of their new partners, Bwin.party Digital Entertainment.

“Our long term vision is to offer our players the next generation of real money games on multiple platforms in regulated markets worldwide,” said Zynga CRO Barry Cottle.

Investors took note of the online casino offerings late Wednesday as Zynga’s stock price jumped by nearly five percent, to $3.24 a share. That price is expected to continue to rise as the US prepares to open their online gambling market.

Zynga has already stated their desire to move into the US market when the regulatory framework is in place. Zynga has partnerships in place that will allow the company to gain licenses and start operating their Zynga Poker for real-money. Currently, Zynga offers their fake money games on the Facebook platform in the US.

While most companies are looking for ways to infiltrate the US market, Zynga has existing customers waiting to move over to real-money gambling. The company boasts a player database of over 300 million people worldwide.

Investors are hoping that the stock will continue to rise, as they have watched the price drop drastically in a little over a year. Zynga sold shares of their company at $10 each when they went public back in 2011. Since then, the stock price has dropped to a low of $2.10 late last year. The company is banking on the real-money gambling to bring investors back in the coming months.

New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada gamblers may get the first crack at real-money gambling on Zynga games. All three states have regulated online gambling and are in the process of creating regulatory laws while licensing operators. Nevada and New Jersey are expecting to have online casinos open for business by the end of this year.