Gambling operators seek to partner with Zynga

According to reports, groups such as GTech G2 and Playtech have already made bids to create an online poker infrastructure for Zynga.

Many believe that there is big money to be had in the social gaming world, with game players making up a 13% of all Facebook users. Zynga’s Facebook poker application has an incredible 33.8 million active players, and a good percentage would make the switch to real money online poker given half the chance, especially on a platform with which they are familiar.

There has been a lot of speculation about the direction that Zynga is taking in the past few weeks. Some believe that the group will purchase Bwin’s ‘surplus’ online poker network, Ongame now that ShuffleMaster has opted out of a potential deal. However, now that Playtech and GTech G2 are also in the picture, Zynga may be biding for time as it makes a decision about who to partner up with. All agree, however, that it is more a question of when, rather than if, Zynga will enter the real money online poker sphere.

Some question the impact that Zynga will have on the existing online poker industry. With many of its Facebook players under the age of 18, the player pool is not exactly 33.8 million new fish suddenly joining the market as many will be disallowed due to their age. Other factors which may affect Zynga Gaming’s chances of making it in the online poker market are regulations in countries around the world and economic factors.