Online gambling is a 'natural fit', opines Mark Pincus
At the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference, one of the major innovators in the social gaming industry, Zynga CEO Marcus Pincus expressed optimism regarding online gambling, stating: "I think it's a good natural fit. I think, philosophically, the part people haven't noticed yet, real money gaming is the perfect fit with virtual goods and social games."
He also added that online gambling could bring in an additional billion dollars for his company, and that recent changes in the federal approach to anti online gambling laws, along with Facebook policy changes, make the opportunity present itself.
In terms of potential new casino-related developments, Pincus said that his developers may not be confined solely to traditional gambling games: "We're interested, but you should expect to see us do a lot more than what you've seen in offshore casinos. The amount of innovation you're going to see around gambling as an entertainment mechanic is going to be mind blowing."
He also hinted that Zynga may enter a partnership with a traditional casino company before the end of this year and that it sees a great deal of opportunity "to start to bring this gambling element into more than just casino games."
Commenting on the rumor that Zynga's CEO suggested the company may partner with traditional casino firms such as Wynn Resorts Ltd, Pincus said: "We're definitely talking to all of the players that you would suspect. We have incredible respect and admiration for brands and groups like the Wynn... I would expect that you'll see a lot of these players kind of figure out their go-to-market partnerships for sure before the end of this year."
