Back in August, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) moved into the online gambling space. It struck a deal with UK operator Gamesys, which launched an app called “Bingo Friendzy.”
Well, it looks like it was a money maker. In fact, Facebook has announced another partnership – this time with 888 Holdings, which is also based in the UK. The company will develop a variety of apps for slots, casino games and even bingo.
Both companies have actually worked together on non-gambling titles. For example, 888’s “Bingo Island” has 630,000 players. It seems like a good bet there should be a decent number of them that will want to play for real money.
As I noted yesterday in the IPO Playbook, Facebook has been extremely aggressive with monetization lately — and gambling is a category that could provide a nice revenue lift. While it looks like the action will be in Europe, there may be a loosening of the gambling laws in the US. Already, Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is anticipating this. Consider that the company recently applied for a gaming license in Nevada.
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He is also the author of “How to Create the Next Facebook” and “High-Profit IPO Strategies: Finding Breakout IPOs for Investors and Traders.” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
A long-time follower of the IPO scene, back in 1999 Tom started one of the first sites in the space called WebIPO. It was a place where investors got research as well as access to deals for the dot-com boom. Tom also wrote the top-selling book, Investing in IPOs. In it, he covers all the aspects of analyzing an IPO, such as reading the prospectus, detecting the risk factors and understanding some of the arcane regulations. But don’t worry — if that process is too intimidating for you, thankfully Tom will do the legwork for you right here in the IPO Playbook blog.
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