Zynga drops US real-money ambitions
New CEO Don Mattrick stresses need to return "back to basics" with focus on free to play social games
Zynga has announced it will end its pursuit of a US real-money gaming (RMG) licence, the company said after its second quarter earning’s report released yesterday.
The San Francisco-based firm stated it would instead focus on free-to-play games, including its social casino offering, but continue to assess its RMG products in the UK.
Chief operating officer David Ko said: “While we continue to evaluate our RMG products in our UK tests, we are making the focus choice not to pursue a licence for realmoney gaming in the United States.”
Zynga first announced its drive into the UK RMG space in April when it launched its first real-money gambling products, ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, in partnership with bwin.party.
Late last year the company changed the terms of its contract with Facebook, giving it the flexibility to potentially launch RMG on the social network where regulations allow.
The firm is also believed to have filed for a preliminary finding of suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board in December last year, however yesterday’s announcement suggests this endeavour will progress no further.
“Our commitment to free-to-play, social casino is the reason that we acquired Spooky Cool in Q2, a developer of free to play social slots games,” Ko said. “We will continue to evaluate all of our priorities against the growing market opportunity in free social gaming including the social casino offerings.”
Zynga acquired game studio Spooky Cool Labs, which includes the city-building game Wizard of Oz, last month for $18m.
The announcement of the real-money gambling ditch comes after another set of disappointing financial results in which Zynga’s new CEO Don Mattrick urged the company to “get back to basics” after a 31% fall in revenue year-on-year. The company’s share price fell 14% to $3.02 in after-hours trading.