GameHouse owner launches US real-money Facebook game

GameHouse owner RealNetworks has launched a real-money social casino game on Facebook targeting the US market through a sweepstakes model.

The GameHouse Casino Plus offers monthly cash sweepstakes prizes to Facebook users in 31 states and Washington DC, while game users who live outside of these territories can also enter a monthly virtual coins sweepstakes.

The free-to-play game enables users to win golden tickets that enter them into a monthly $100,000 real-money draw, with players not required to purchase coins to enter.

The real-money game, which comes just one week after Zynga announced it would not pursue real-money gambling in the US, is based on Real’s GameHouse Casino product on Facebook and RealNetworks has plans to launch new releases on mobile in the future.

“This is a powerful approach,” Ken Murphy, vice president of studios at GameHouse, said. “GameHouse Casino Plus now delivers the excitement of a chance to win real cash through a staple of American culture, a sweepstakes.”

RealNetworks’ real-money launch was announced in conjunction with its $15.6m acquisition of bingo and slots-focused company Slingo which licences its game to Zynga and currently has 4.5 million MAU.

The GameHouse announcement follows a number of real-money Facebook launches in the UK with Gamesys, 888, Bonza Gaming and most recently Paddy Power offering real-money gaming on the social network.