Facebook Is Trialling Online Gambling....poker?

[TightEnd]

Facebook is trialling online gambling for the first time, by allowing a gaming app on its platform to offer users the chance to play with real money.

Limited to the UK for now, the Telegraph reports that the launch of Bingo Friendzy signals the first instance of a Facebook app allowing gamers to stake real cash on the outcome of their play. Players have to be aged 18 and using a computer in the UK to be able to play. Julien Codorniou, Facebook's head of gaming for Europe, explained to the Financial Times:

    "Gambling is very popular and well regulated in the UK . . . for millions of bingo users it's already a social experience [so] it makes sense [for us] to offer that as well."

It's not just limited to this one game, either: in the coming months, UK Facebook users will be able to play online slot machine games, and they're expected to be followed by a Zynga-powered real-cash poker game next year....

http://gizmodo.com/5932411/facebook-is-trialling-online-gambling

[ACE2M]

Bingo Friendzy - gold star for somone

[JK]

Bring on zynga cash pls

[Acidmouse]

Interesting that the real company behind the app is jackpotjoy. They have a huge bingo and games site in the UK, A massively played free slots app on FB also..

Its the site I won £20k on last year on deal or no deal paid me out in 24hours...lol

[Killerkilsby]

Thin!

[Acidmouse]

Thin!

a game of luck, i am shocking at poker

[Poker_Monkey]

Thin!

+1

[DMorgan]

Cautiously optimistic but this could be pretty big

[TommyD]

Really looking for an excuse to delete my FB account but stuff like this isn't helping.  Real money FB poker?  Too good to say no to, going to be too annoying to keep sane.

'Congratulations, you've won £1.42 with Two Pair, Jacks and Fours.  Do you want to post this on all your friends' walls and piss them off with your spam again?'

[TL900]

One time

[pokerfan]

This time next year..........

[AlunB]

Cautiously optimistic but this could be pretty big

Why do you think so? Genuinely interested.

[jackinbeat]

Cautiously optimistic but this could be pretty big

Why do you think so? Genuinely interested.

Zynga is full of people that think they can win, and they can with play chips. That willlead many of them to believe they can win with real money, zyngillions of new fish in the game.

[AlunB]

Cautiously optimistic but this could be pretty big

Why do you think so? Genuinely interested.

Zynga is full of people that think they can win, and they can with play chips. That willlead many of them to believe they can win with real money, zyngillions of new fish in the game.

You hear this a lot. But of the small percentage of these who are from the UK, how many do you think are not aware they can already play poker for money on many different sites? Zynga adding real money functionality is one aspect of it though. I presumed we were talking about the wider picture. A pokerstars app for example.

[DMorgan]

I think its all about comfort level really. Having a real money poker app through facebook seems a lot more familiar than going to online poker sites with their sponsored pros and huge guarantee tournaments etc. Especially since none of the bigger sites have really thrown their weight behind primetime advertising yet.

Once people start getting their feet wet at small stakes, the 'trickle up' process begins and away we go.....eventually