Facebook opens its doors to gambling with its first dedicated application: real money and poker games are at stake.
Facebook is kicking off a new phase of its existence, aiming to monetize in a rather conspicuous way: a gambling application has just been launched.
Its name is Bingo Friendzy and it was developed in collaboration with Gamesys, one of the leaders in the online gaming sector in the United Kingdom.
The first games to be activated, it seems, as reported by the Financial Times, should be slot machines and bingo.
However, the focus will be more squarely on betting and poker , although there will be some time to wait for these specialties: the definitive project could see the light of day in 2013.
It will probably be the phase in which large amounts of real money will begin to circulate: for gambling games, Facebook’s virtual currency will not be used, but real money will have to be used.
Here, Facebook has perhaps found the way – simpler and more immediate – to monetize, even if the legal issue remains to be considered and not underestimated: how to harmonize general rules valid on Facebook in all countries where the social network operates?
In fact, each country has its own regulations regarding the gambling sector, and finding a common path to avoid breaking any local laws could become a much more arduous undertaking than the privacy issue, to cite an example of a topic that has always been sensitive for Facebook.
The innovations related to gambling will initially be launched only in the United Kingdom, an area where everything is well regulated.
Based on the UK experience, the betting, bingo, poker, and slot machine system will then be extended to all other platforms.
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