http://www.pokernews.com/news/2012/0...ming-12151.htm

On Thursday, online gaming giant Zynga announced that it is launching a new proprietary platform at Zynga.com where users can find their favorite games without logging into Facebook. The new platform is expected to go live later this month and will feature all of its most popular games, including Zynga Poker.

The extension from Facebook gives Zynga more financial independence and paves the way for the company to employ a real-money gaming platform. In January, a Zynga spokesperson said publicly that the company was in discussions with several partners about a shift into the real-money online gambling market.

According to Dow Jones Newswire, Pincus added that real-money gaming would be a "natural fit" for Zynga.

Not in the USA it won't. Also by starting before the US market is open I think they pretty much assure they will never enter it.

I wonder how much pokerstars fears zynga.

I would never play on Zynga. The software ist just horrid!

You'll get over it when your win rate sky rockets thanks to Zynga's Facebook ties.

I think you think too much...they can do whatever the hell they want in other countries, just don't offer real money gaming to US players. See: Caesar's/888/WSOP

They don't get in trouble for having the platform ready if they aren't actually offering actual poker.

I guess this could become the best micro stakes option for a while

micro stakes player would have less problems winning some and moving to mid stakes

NL5 and maybe NL10 Im guessing

the next big thing......

zynga launching real money games is my last chance of becoming a profitable poker player. One time...

Do you really think all the people that play for free on Zynga are just going to deposit and become habitual donating fish? Do you really think they're totally unaware that real money play already exists, or that they just like the Zynga software so much they're waiting for them to offer real money play, rather than go somewhere like Pokerstars?

I have plenty of friends who play on Zynga, and they all play there for the same reason: It doesn't cost any money.

I think a lot of them simply don't trust online gambling sites. They actually have a pretty strong case! But Zynga is linked to facebook, and people already trust facebook with their personal info. Doesn't seem a huge stretch to imagine a decent % of Zynga players being prepared to play for real money on a platform they have some level of faith in.

The platform of having all their games on one site and then going live in real money games in the future could bring in some new money to the poker economy. Zynga's games are crazy popular, like Words With Friends, and if people are going to the site the possibility is there that they will want to explore other games. I.E., Zynga will be the loaded with fish in the beginning. Could be a good thing if they can hold off until poker here in the states is a go.

Can't wait for this.

A large amount of people actually buy chips on zynga so yeah they definitely would play on a real money platform for real money.

lol sample size..."a few of your friends" almost 60 million people like zygna poker on facebook and they have 30 million + views...People are buying play chips off the Zygna poker interface. And yes they are unaware of safe real money options. This is the 2nd time ive had to correct you on this subject!

Major casino using Zynga SW, LOL

Could be the 2nd poker boom

Many Zynga players pay real $ for their chips as has been mentioned.

But beyond that have you ever actually asked anybody outside of current online poker players, which is to say the vast majority of any given population, how they feel about online poker? It's rigged, sites will cheat you, players will cheat, money's not safe, etc. And so far those people haven't been terribly far off. Numerous sites have now stolen player's money including of course the 2nd largest site there has ever been, AP/UB had select owners and their friends cheating players by looking at their hole cards, players will cheat is more true than ever. The only thing that hasn't yet been proven is sites' rigging.

Zynga immediately has a reputation far exceeding any of the current online sites solely because of their association with Facebook and location within the United States. That alone gives them more than enough to completely reshape, and dominate, the online poker market if and when they enter it.

Here is a page from Party's half-annual presentation publicly available here: http://www.bwinparty.com/~/media/Fil...20Version.ashx



30%+ of people in some of the most affluent technology oriented states (California/Florida/New York) have never even heard of Poker Stars. Less than half of people from those states have ever heard of Party Poker. And about 5% of them have heard of Cake Poker. And that survey was prompted awareness meaning they were given a list of sites and asked to select the ones they had heard of. Off the top of their head far fewer people would be able to even come up with Poker Stars as a poker site, let alone as a site that'd be happy to load up and start depositing money on.

People here lose sight of how incredibly unpopular online poker still is. I don't know if US regulation will necessarily change that, but blindly dismissing that possibility is as ignorant as ignorant a choice as blindly believing it.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-1...app_4949752878

sick we are nr.1

Get ready to have zero rakeback

Get ready for nothing to change in the USA.

Can totally see this logic but if even .5% of the total Zynga users deposit and play it'll be a good thing.

I got into poker through playing for play money then depositing £5 here and there, no I'm straight up ballin throwin fiddy pound notes around like they're nothin.

Do It Right - the fact you perceive online poker to be unpopular is irrelevant is in itself Why? Because the game of poker doesn't attract people who take such a view, poker attracts those who like action. Those who like action want action; they don't really care about 'the state of poker's integrity online in 2012'. Players want to play - simple.

You can bet your bottom dollar there are 'gamblers' unaware of the current poker phenom and simply never chanced upon an opportunity to unleash the gambler in them. How many potential (or 'in the gene') gamblers do you think never tried poker due to simply not knowing a casino or online poker operator? Now imagine all those potential gamblers who DO use the internet, but for social media, selling eggs on ebay or whatever reason and you have a HUGE new fishbowl to feed from. Sure progress may be slow and regulation could be very awkward but the potential is huge. Different business model but same gravy

If it happens (Zynga brings a whole new user profile of poker players) then believe me for a short time it will be amazing for people like us - i.e professional/want to win and so try hard, type players. But inevitably nature will smooth the curve and it will be less attractice. But for while it will be (potentially) extremely profitable I think