Bonza Gaming launches real-money Facebook offering
Company formed through Sportingbet-Plumbee JV releases NetEnt-powered Bonza Slots on the social network.
Bonza Gaming, the joint venture formed by Sportingbet and Plumbee, has signed an agreement with Facebook which will see it join Gamesys and 888 in launching a real-money gaming offering on the platform.
The company has today released Bonza Slots featuring five Net Entertainment games, through an exclusive deal which will see NetEnt provide the operator Facebook-optimised variants of its online games. The agreement was announced earlier this morning, but the launch of the app will take place following the signing of a contract later this morning.
It becomes the third operator “ and the first non-egaming company “ to launch a real-money offering on Facebook, following the launch of Gamesys’ Bingo and Slots Friendzy in August 2012, and 888’s Bingo Appy, via its social gaming arm Mytopia, in December of the same year.
NetEnt chief executive Per Eriksson described the partnership as “a new exciting distribution channel” for his company. “Being selected as Bonza Gaming’s main casino games supplier is yet more proof of the confidence and trust that is recognised through Net Entertainment’s operational and technical leadership,” he said.
The company’s formation was first announced in December last year, described at the time as a move to explore “the real-money, social-gambling arena”.
Commenting on this morning’s announcement, Bonza chief executive Rick Brownlow (pictured) said: “We’ve worked closely with the Platform and Advertising teams at Facebook to maximise the value that Facebook brings to gaming operators.
“We believe being wedded to social platforms we can start to disrupt the gambling industry by creating a product which will appeal to both new and existing real money customers.”
Facebook’s head of partnerships for Europe, Middle East and Africa Julien Codorniou added: “Facebook is a great platform for playing games with your friends and we are really pleased to be working with Bonza who are home-grown UK talent, with great games and a commitment to safety.”