Zynga Expresses Interest in Real Money Poker

Zynga has been one of the leading names in play money poker, having cornered the market on free games through Facebook and other portals. Now, the company that boasts over 7 million daily players is expressing an interest in moving into the world of real money online gambling.

"We know from listening to our players that there's an interest in the real money gambling market," Zynga told Mercury News. "We're in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity."

Currently, Zynga operates its poker game in much the same way as its other popular online games, most of which are accessed through Facebook. For the most part, these games are free to play. However, players can make small payments in order to purchase items, advantages, or other extras in these games. Along with advertising revenues, this has made Zynga a highly successful online gaming company.

Zynga would definitely be a strong player in a regulated American poker market, if only because of their deep market penetration and strong brand identity. However, some analysts have questioned how much Zynga's play money expertise and player base would translate over to the real money market.

Many companies have looked for opportunities to prepare for the potential regulation of online poker in the United States. A recent decision by the Department of Justice refined the reading of the Wire Act to apply specifically to sports betting, seemingly opening the way for online poker legislation. While federal legislation seems like a long shot in the near term, state-level poker could be a possibility. Markets such as California, New York and New Jersey could be lucrative in their own right, while smaller states could potentially join together in multi-state compacts to increase the viability of their rooms.

In particular, Zynga - which is based in San Francisco - would seem well-suited to the California market. Several attempts have been made to pass online poker legislation in California over the last two years, but none have yet succeeded.