Facebook’s first ever gambling games app has been launched in the “well-regulated” and “mature” UK market.
The game, Bingo Friendzy by London-based Gamesys, is the first Facebook app to promote the exchange of real currency. The fact that the social network is beginning with just one gambling app suggests it is tentatively testing the waters — gambling apps could be one way to boost the balance sheet or to promote its unprofitable mobile platforms.
Using geolocation technology the site will be able to tell whether a user is based in the UK. This is important, considering how vastly gambling law differs from country to country. Legal issues are one major reason behind the California-based company’s decision to launch the app in the UK.
According to Julien Codorniou, Facebook’s head of gaming for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the UK’s passion for squandering cash made it a prime test subject. “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,” he told the Financial Times. “People love playing new types of games with their friends on Facebook and real money gaming is a popular leisure activity in the UK”.
Checks are in place to verify the user’s age and “age-gating” technology ensures the games don’t appear on the timelines of under 18s — users outside of the UK will not even see adverts for the game. A source explaining this to TechCrunch also made the bold claim, “Young people are far more likely to see an ad for bingo on the TV or in a betting shop window as they walk to school than they are on Facebook.”
Facebook is usually entitled to a 30 percent cut from games that use its Facebook Credits, but it’s unclear whether the same deal will be applied here. Either way, with Zynga — Facebook’s largest gaming partner — announcingplans to launch gambling versions of its games in 2013, the social network’s newest shareholders may soon have something to smile about.
