Let your mouth speak archive

So sad. wondered is there any way to keep the winner info private? I saw most of time the winner name and identity has to be published.

Hello there,
I'm from Vietnam. I'm a poker newbie and still chicken out of playing poker. Nice to know you all.

Hello and wellcome!

The Zynga company is applying a few unorthodox techniques to get itself in line for a big stake in the online social gambling market. Just a few days ago it was revealed the firm had filed a large number of patents indicating just how intent it is on being the biggest and best at this new game.

The fast paced world of the internet has put the experienced interactive social media company on high alert for the best developed products out there. Going from 1 to 89 patents in little over a year is proof in the pudding. The company’s patent portfolio expanded from 1 held and 9 pending to 89 patents held and 36 pending. The company would be extremely happy if even a fraction of that growth would be matched by an increase in their bottom line.

In what appears to be a re-alignment of its priorities for the sake of the sinking stock the announcements that the social gaming giant would dispose of several of its least profitable titles along with the support staff seems like a frail attempt at best at turning Zynga’s fortunes around.

Software developer Walker Digital succumbed to Zynga and gave up 38 of those patents. Thirty three of those 38 gems have something to do with online gambling technology. Walker Digital actually sued Zynga for gaming patent infringement two years ago. Of those 33 patents are those that describe a game of chance that allows users to place bets, and a gaming device connected to a slot machine server, as well as specific payout rules for a casino that accepts real money wagers. The firm is speculating that its 60 million strong player base and its distancing itself from Facebook to build its own social media gambling business will bring the company riches beyond the wildest dreams.


Zynga's Patent List Ensures Online Gambling Quest

The Olympic Games has a reputation for being pure and unscathed by corruption, match fixing, or drug enhanced performances. That doesn’t mean however that gambling doesn’t go on during the international competitions. In fact a great deal of punter action takes place during the games and bookies take full advantage of the opportunity to offer their services to the public. Book makers were unexpectedly surprised during the recent London Olympic Games when the men’s football final, saw 21,700 bets placed. Another popular event with punters was the premier event, the men’s 100 metres final that garnered 17,800 wagers.

Richard Thomas, Head of PR operations for William Hill revealed after the games, “Football, tennis, basketball and athletics were our best sports for turnover. Predictably, the sports where we performed brilliantly, or where our high-profile athletes prospered were not good, and we showed a loss on rowing and athletics,” Thomas added, “We did our best to bet in-play on as many events as possible. If it wasn’t over in 9.63 seconds, then we offered in-running betting. This was really embraced by Olympics punters and accounted for 50% of total turnover.” As the Olympic Games gears up for Rio in 2016 the books are also getting their affairs in order to accommodate the betting on the athletes and competitions.

South America and Asia are as connected as anyone when it comes to online wagering so the expectation is there will be a spike in online gambling activity during the 2016 event. As mobile gambling becomes even more pronounced in the future it is likely the volume of wagers could explode. Although the time difference for betting in Europe may interrupt some punters for entering the market that isn’t an issue for those in North America or in the Far East. Online gambling is forgiving in so much as it can be accomplished anywhere and at anytime. Advances in mobile technology are sure to occur by 2016 so who knows what the future will bring for the bookies who are ready to take your bet.


2016 Olympics In Rio Mobile Online Gambling Ready

Ontario Canada has been a place where change is relatively slow and when it comes to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation that means really slow and cautiously too. Ontario is home to Canada’s largest city Toronto which is a world class destination even though it doesn’t have a bricks and mortar casino just yet. Toronto has been waffling back and forth on a proposal to build one somewhere in the Greater Toronto Area. Debate is ongoing and the statistics are constantly changing according to prepares them. On the other side of the fence are those who want to see online gambling come of age in Ontario.

There are those who see the OLG dragging its feet on the idea and those who feel that they are moving way too fast to keep up with the required safety nets to protect youth and problem gamblers in the province. The OLG does things a little differently than say Las Vegas when it comes to sports betting for example. According to the OLG web site and its own promoganda the OLG looks at its business as a job creator and surprisingly in need of modernization. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation takes a very different approach to curtail combination bets.

The OLG unlike other sports books, doesn’t adjust the odds once they’re set. Instead, when a certain game or a particular combination of games have been bet on and has exceeded the maximum point of payout the OLG is willing to take on, the company simply shuts down all bets. OLG spokesperson Don Pister explained to the Toronto Star newspaper that the decision to shut down bets is because the OLG has a “potential maximum liability”, before adding that “the ultimate goal is maintaining a reasonable level of financial risk.” Pister put the OLG on the defensive, saying that despite the frustration being voiced by bettors, shutting down games is necessary if it means threatening the existence of their business.


OLG Online Gambling Proposal Slow to Come About

Another dismal year at Atlantic City casinos that saw revenue fall 8% from last year may persuade Gov. Chris Christie to approve online gambling legislation.

The New Jersey state legislature overwhelmingly voted in favor of making New Jersey the third state to approve Internet gambling in December. The bill now sits on Christie’s desk, needing only his signature in order for the Garden State to join Nevada and Delaware in providing intrastate online gambling.

Recent revenue figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reveal that Atlantic City casinos took in $3.05 billion in 2012. That amount is down from $3.3 billion in 2011 and marks six straight years of declining revenue since 2006 when the east coast casinos took in $5.2 billion from gamblers.

Superstorm Sandy that devastated the eastern seaboard and closed Atlantic City casinos for a few days in October is partly responsible for this year’s lackluster showing in terms of revenue. However, competition from casinos in nearby states such as Pennsylvania is more to blame for New Jersey’s half-dozen years of downward spiralling numbers. Pennsylvania has 11 casinos and has overtaken Atlantic City as the country’s second-ranked gambling market behind Las Vegas.

New Jersey has an opportunity to bolster its declining numbers and become an online gambling hub of sorts. And it all lies on the shoulders of Christie, who vetoed a similar bill in 2011. However, that veto power was exercised prior to the U.S. Department of Justice ruling that found the 1961 Wire Act applicable to only sports betting. That December, 2011 order has paved the way for individual states to enact their own online gambling laws.

Christie still has time to make his decision. New Jersey statutes permit 45 days following approval from the state legislature, which occurred in mid-December. Last time Christie waited almost the full 45 days before using his rubber VETO stamp. But with New Jersey needing to increase its faltering revenue, this time around Christie may reach for his pen instead.



NJ's Woes May Prompt Christie to Approve Online Gambling

Last year saw a number of surprises in the mobile software world. Facebook defied tech valuations with its mix of the IPO followed by the acquisition of Instagram while Google introduced its new tablets.

Facing criticism for its seemingly slowing creative pipeline Apple never the less defied all expectations and launched its iPad mini with thundering success.

Despite the somewhat unclear picture many believe that 2013 will prove to be a creative and innovative year for the mobile economy. One of such areas of expected growth is mobile casino gaming.

Juniper Research states that the sector is expected to worth $100 billion globally in 5 years. They argue that this immense growth will be supported by legalisation in many U.S states as well as gambling on social websites.

Such positive forecasts prompted Zynga to increase its presence and investment in online gambling.

Others who realised the potential of the sector are small studios such as BitRhymes who began to establish a profitable niche for themselves in the sector as well as Hatch’s CashPlay which has enjoyed a growing interest from gamers.


Mobile Gambling Set to Grow in 2013 - Online Casino Archives

Back when there were only a couple of “Harry Potter” pictures, and provocative youth films like “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight” were barely a twinkle in Hollywood’s eye, Warner Brothers tried — and failed — to make a movie of Orson Scott Card’s book “Ender’s Game.” Now, Gigi Pritzker, an heiress who produces movies, is poised to expand her company atop the one that got away from Warner.

The film version of “Ender’s Game” is set for release on Nov. 1 by Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment unit. A tale of violent interplanetary warfare, it is intended to extend the young adult line of those recently merged studios, whose blockbusters, “The Hunger Games” and the “Twilight” films, have had about $4 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

But “Ender’s Game” was actually built by Ms. Pritzker’s OddLot Entertainment.

OddLot, founded in 2005, is tiny, with only about a dozen employees who operate from warehouse-style space near the Sony Pictures studio here. It picked up the pieces when Warner’s rights to Mr. Card’s book expired, and four years ago, it began assembling its most expensive movie to date, with a production budget of more than $110 million.

Along the way, “Ender’s Game” has become part of an expansion that could soon put OddLot, though still a boutique, in Hollywood’s top flight of equity-backed production companies. Those include Participant Media, which is owned by the Web entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, and provided backing for “Lincoln”; Legendary Entertainment, which was founded by the investor Thomas Tull and is making “Man of Steel” and “Pacific Rim” for Warner; and Annapurna Pictures, which has made another heiress, Megan Ellison, a player in the current awards season, with films like “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Master.”

Successes like those, Ms. Pritzker said, suggest there is a path that can lead from small, and almost accidental, adventures in the film business to something resembling a major enterprise.

“It’s only in looking back that you see, maybe there was a pattern,” Ms. Pritzker said by telephone from her home in Chicago on Wednesday. “I’m very opportunistic by nature,” she added.

This week will find Ms. Pritzker at the Sundance Film Festival. She and a pair of OddLot co-presidents, Bill Lischak and Michael Nathanson, will bring with them a comedy, “The Way, Way Back,” starring Steve Carell, which is both in the festival and for sale to potential distributors.

The outing will also be a test run for the new partnership between the two co-presidents. Mr. Lischak, an accountant and a former president of the independent company First Look Studios, has been with Ms. Pritzker for about six years. Mr. Nathanson, hired in November, previously served as president of MGM Pictures and production president of Sony’s Columbia Pictures unit.

Mr. Nathanson, speaking jointly with Mr. Lischak in an interview last week, said he initially contacted OddLot about investing in “Ender’s Game,” which he had once hoped to buy while at MGM. Instead, he enlisted as part of the executive team at OddLot. He was drawn to the people there, he said, because they seemed refreshingly undaunted by the crosscurrents in a turbulent film business.

“They’re all running into it, not away from it,” Mr. Nathanson said of OddLot’s decision to double its film count to at least three or four a year, and to dig deeper into the “Ender’s Game” business, if the movie meets its goals.

A science fiction novel published in 1985, “Ender’s Game” long seemed to have disadvantages as movie material. Its violent, complicated story is built around a boy-hero with a knack for killing. And it depends on a deeply concealed twist at the end.

During years of development at Warner over the last decade, Wolfgang Petersen, who planned to direct “Ender’s Game,” referred to its protagonist Wiggin Ender as a science fiction equivalent of Antoine Doinel in François Truffaut’s “400 Blows.” The depth of the lead character is something Ms. Pritzker sought to preserve as OddLot began to carve a film story from what has now become a series of books.

She joined Lynn Hendee and Robert Chartoff, who were supposed to produce the film for Warner, along with Mr. Card and others. They hired Gavin Hood, the filmmaker behind both the South African teen crime drama “Tsotsi” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” as writer and director. OddLot bought out the work done earlier for Warner, but Mr. Hood essentially started from scratch, ultimately creating a story that is built around a young actor, Asa Butterfield, who is 15, but is intended, like “Hunger Games,” to attract viewers well into their 30s.

“I think ‘Hunger Games’ cracked the code,” Ms. Pritzker said of a shift in film culture that has since made “Ender’s Game” one of Hollywood’s most closely watched projects.

Ms. Pritzker, now 50, is the daughter of the entrepreneur Jay Pritzker, who created the Hyatt hotel chain, and whose death in 1999 ultimately left Ms. Pritzker with a fortune valued by Forbes Magazine last year at $1.9 billion.

Her wealth is a subject Ms. Pritzker declined to discuss last week. She explained, however, that her father was supportive when, after studying anthropology at Stanford, and then taking courses in documentary filmmaking, she joined a friend, Deborah Del Prete, to found a New York-based company that made music videos and public service advertisements, among other things.

Eschewing an executive position in the family business, Ms. Pritzker went on to make movies, beginning in 1989 with a thriller, “Simple Justice,” that was directed by Ms. Del Prete.

A producing partnership between the two dissolved about four years ago, Ms. Pritzker said. The separation came on the heels of a failure, “The Spirit,” which had a reported budget of about $60 million, but took in only about $20 million at the domestic box office.

Ms. Del Prete was involved with the early work on “Ender’s Game,” and is an executive producer of the film. “I enjoy

An Internet gambling company wants to buy Atlantic City, N.J.'s Atlantic Club casino and says it's ready to pump money into it to help prop up the seaside gambling resort.

Rational Group US Holdings is the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. It's asking New Jersey casino regulators for permission to buy the Atlantic Club for an undisclosed amount.

The proposed deal will be scrutinized closely.

New Jersey lawmakers have passed a bill that would authorize Internet gambling, but Republican Gov. Chris Christie hasn't acted on it.

Last year, PokerStars paid $547 million to settle money laundering charges from a U.S. government crackdown on illegal Internet gambling. It admitted no wrongdoing and is allowed to operate in states where online gambling is legal.

Read more: Online gambling site wants to buy A.C. casino
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

Jan 28 will see the first formal meeting between the Dutch Gaming Authority (DGA) and operators interested in acquiring a license under new gaming laws.

New proposals will be published at the end of March and regulation is expected to come into effect by 2014.

Gaming regulation has been a hot potato in Dutch politics over the last few years as politicians clashed over the extent to which online gambling should be liberalized.

Under the existing Dutch Betting and Gaming Act, the operation of online poker is illegal in the Netherlands. The regulation ignores all forms of remote or online gambling.

But recent elections brought a new coalition government into power, and its leader Mark Rutte has taken on the issue. He is determined to create a legal online gaming structure to “exploit” the tax raising opportunities that regulation will provide.

Earlier suggestions that the new laws should only legalize online poker have fallen away and the new likelihood is that licenses will be awarded for casino and sportsbook betting too.
Preparations

The DGA, or Kansspelautoriteit, started operating on April 1 last year in preparation for anticipated regulation.

It issued so-called “cease and desist” letters to 40 major online gambling providers. According to the DGA, approximately half of the industry complied. Those that have not complied risk being “actively excluded” from the new regulatory system.

However, compliance has not required actual withdrawal from the market; all major online poker operators continue to accept Dutch players. Operators took certain mitigating action: Ending certain advertising in the Dutch language, redirecting websites on .NL domain name to more generate dot-com or EU websites, and pulling national advertising on print and television in the country.

A spokesperson at bwin.party told pokerfuse in November that they were complying with requests from the Dutch regulator during a “normal transitional period” ahead of the market opening next year, and had no plans to withdraw from the market. PokerStars confirmed the same.
The Danish Model

Previous political pressure built up to propose a regulatory model based on the Belgian system, which only offers licenses to companies with a brick and mortar presence in the country.

However, the former Secretary of State for the Justice and Security ministry rejected this model, and the new administration has made statements indicating a preference of a system based more closely on the Danish model.

The Danish system allows all foreign operators to apply, and imposes few restrictions on the games and stakes spread common in more heavy-handed regulations.

Not only is Denmark’s regime substantially more liberal than the Belgian model, it has the approval of the EU Commission and is not subject to legal challenges over potential breaches of EU law. Approximately 40 operators hold licenses and nearly all major online poker networks are available to Danish players.

The current bricks and mortar gaming tax rate in the Netherlands is set at 29%; Denmark’s is 20% on Gross Gaming revenue. 29% would be markedly high high if applied to online gaming and, as experience elsewhere in the EU has shown, would lead to a substantial reduction in the online poker market, hampering tax revenue raised long-term.

Industry representatives at the Jan 28 meeting have been asked to suggest what tax rates would be viable. With a population of slightly over six million, the total value of the gaming market is estimated to be €225m. Following a harrowing political negotiation over an austerity budget, the government is keen to secure the new revenue stream as soon as possible.

Other issues up for discussion will focus on the practicalities of implementing the new regime including such details as identity verification and anti-money laundering mechanisms.

Political divisions are likely to mean further debate and delay before the government can finalize the text of the new law. The earliest feasible date for its introduction would be in late 2012, but early 2014 may be a more realistic estimate.

Assuming that the political support for a “Danish” solution remains strong, Dutch poker enthusiasts will avoid the travails that have assailed Spanish, French and Italian players.




Netherlands Consults with Industry on New Online Gaming Regulation | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Casino-style social games are growing faster than any other genre, but are you prepared to take the plunge? We asked Superdata Research CEO Joost van Dreunen to tell us about the current state of social casino games.

As perhaps one of the most misunderstood genres, casino-style games are tremendously popular among social gamers. Classics like poker and slots draw large audiences, comparable to that of FarmVille and Candy Crush.

And there certainly has been no shortage in headlines. In early 2012, IGT acquired Double Down Interactive for a whopping $500 million. A few months later Caesars Entertainment bought Playtika, the company behind Slotomania, which has 8.9 million monthly active users and an estimated $18.3 million in monthly earnings. And market leader Zynga is rebuilding its share price by expanding its social casino efforts and by hiring executives from the gambling world.

With all this activity, it is time to take a closer look and see where we, as an industry, want to take social casino games.
The state of social casino
Since 2010 the total number of people playing social casino games has doubled, and today represents roughly one-third of the entire social gaming audience. In terms of revenue, the average social casino game player spends roughly twice as much as the average social gamer.

Our most recent numbers show that the average revenue per paying user among casino-style games was $69.13, compared to $35.82 for social gamers (November 2012). Overall, American social casino players spent $698 million in 2012, making the U.S. the biggest earner in the $1.7 billion worldwide market for social casino games. And even in the most conservative scenario, the total market is expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2015.

Social casino's success is in its ability to target an older, non-traditional gaming audience. While poker's audience does overlap with the traditional gamer with a 71% male audience with an average age of 27 years old, slots and casino style games reach a much older audience with an average player being in his late 30s. Bringing this demographic into social gaming fold has been the key, because these players typically play more intense games and tend to be loyal to their titles.

The major players
Unsurprisingly, a host of companies is actively pursuing this audience. Roughly, there exist two groups. On the one hand, there are the social game companies that see an opportunity to make money off this casino trend. After the explosive growth of social gaming in 2011 and early 2012 started to wane many -- especially small and medium-sized --game companies began looking for new ways to make a living.

However, one does not simply walk into Mordor social casino. Developing a slots game algorithm, for instance, is a complex task, and requires a lot of mathematical expertise. Traditional gambling companies employ vast armies of PhD-equipped mathematicians to develop an appealing game experience.

Obviously this has not deterred many developers from releasing slots games. But in an already crowded market it is very difficult to compete on product, especially against companies that have decades of experience in building these games. Beyond the math, it's difficult for smaller developers to attract a large audience base. Similar to other game genres on Facebook, success largely depends on the ability to cross-promote effectively (acquisition) and keep people playing (retention). At this point in the game, guaranteed riches can only come by being acquired, and that window is closing rapidly.

On the other hand there are the land-based casino operators. This group of companies has long struggled with a public image issue, and online gambling is illegal in the U.S. From their point of view, social casino provides an excellent acquisition tool to draw players to online, real-money destinations.

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Greg Enell who oversees Double Down, stated: "The thinking is that social gaming is a mechanism to build a large gambling-oriented audience now, so when elements of online gambling start to be legalized in U.S. we will have a big audience online."

Their most important question is: What percentage of social casino players will convert to real-money gamblers? In our December issue we found that social casino players and gamblers are overlapping audiences. Over a third already visits a land-based casino more than twice a year, and two-thirds thinks real money gambling should be allowed. Despite this enthusiasm, the thing to remember is that even if the U.S. starts legalizing online gambling -- and it's a big "if" -- its tax structure will be heavily skewed against the interests of casino operators.

Game companies, faites vos jeux!
After an explosive rise on social networks, casino games are now also cropping up on the mobile platform. Several of the key earners on iOS are slots-type games, for instance. But social casino is not a quick answer to either declining revenues or an aggressive acquisition strategy.

What it needs, however, is innovation. Poker games and bingo cards are easy enough to produce. But it is a real design challenge to innovate on an existing concept and to come up with a new spin on a classic game. Transplanting existing game mechanics into a new platform, as generally happens, is only the first stage of a new genre emerging. One of the key developments to look for in 2013 is who manages to offer a unique take on the classic casino-style games.

Finally, beyond the jingle of the online and mobile slot machines, social casino might prove to be the ultimate test of maturity for the industry. The dangers of gambling addiction need no explanation. But similar to the debate on video game violence, to which the industry responded by imposing a system of self-regulation, social casino games require the leadership of key companies in the ecosystem.

Will Apple allow gambling on iPhones even if t

Main Event Entertainment purchased a retail site in Tempe near Interstate 10 and Warner Road with plans to build a 57,000-square-foot indoor entertainment venue.

The venue, on 6.4 acres adjacent to Ikea and Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Emerald Center, is to have bowling, billiards, laser tag, glow golf, rock climbing, gravity ropes and arcade games, as well as food and beverage services.

Also planned are complimentary Wi-Fi, meeting space for events and VIP accommodations for corporate meetings or group gatherings.

Plano, Texas-based Main Event operates 12 centers in Texas.

Construction is expected to begin this spring. A 74,000-square-foot furniture showroom is planned alongside the entertainment center in another new facility to be built.

The online gambling industry isn’t just about computers and games it’s about the people who run these operations and create new and exciting developments that keeps the business moving forward. Individuals can make a big difference in startup ventures with certain talents offering the most advanced knowledge and experience. Social online gambling is on the verge of making it big and key people are making that happen smoothly and effectively. One such professional Jonathan Flesher has been acquired by Betable, a San Francisco-based startup firm.

The former vice president of business development at Zynga. He is the one responsible for the recent partnership deal struck with U.K. online gambling company bwin.party. Flesher will become executive vice president of business development, at Betable, where he will sign developers, push licensing forward in other regions and sign more partnership agreements. Betable’s aim is to convert virtual currency game operators to real money play with as little hassle as possible. “We’re seeing a convergence between the free-to-play social gaming world and online gambling world,”

Flesher commented, that developers that stick to virtual currencies may get left behind as studios that implement real-money gaming acquire a more lucrative player base and get more money for marketing. Flesher added, “If you incorporate real-money gaming, you’ll get a higher lifetime value from your players, and then you’ll be able to outspend other companies in the space that aren’t doing real money gaming,” Betable, has real-money gaming licenses granted in the U.K. The firm allows casino game developers to add real money betting to their titles.

The U.S. is still off limits because of current state and federal regulations but U.K. players on the Apple operating system and players in most jurisdictions elsewhere on Android. Betable’s platform identifies which players they can legally be shown real money gambling features based on their location and jurisdiction.





Betable Snags Zynga's Online Gambling Pro Jonathan Flesher

Online gambling requires an immense amount of trust on the part of the player. When a story of rigging games comes to light it reflects badly on the entire industry and makes a player wonder if the operator is honest. The considerable effort online gambling operators put into making their games fair and square is for their own benefit as well as the consumer. Numerous testing facilities are employed by operators to keep the developers and distributers of these casino games truly random and fair.

A recent report revealed that a subsidiary of Lottomatica, GTech was recently found to have rigged two online casino games. The tampered with games were Reel Deal and Hi/Lo Gambler. These games used a base code created by Realistic Games and were re-coded by GTech. The distribution to unsuspecting online casinos including NordicBet and Betfred created a serious brech of trust for those receiving the tainted games.

Boss Media which has been around for fifteen years operates GTech and Spielo International all under the ownership of Lottomatica. According to research done outside the industry by an independent player the games offered by Betfred were definitely rigged with results indicating the chances of an advertized 100% payback was really about 96%. This can happen in a fair deal due to variance approximately1 in 154 million times. Betfred offered some explanation of the problem and admitted to the mistake publically thanking those responsible for bringing the rigged games to their attention. The facts are straight and Betfred which is licensed in Gibraltar faces some tough questions regarding this situation. It is obvious that Betfred failed to do proper testing on this game.

Betfred was not the only online casino that offered this game to remove it and refund players with NordicBet doing likewise. While the free to play game gave players a fair shake the for real money game did not. Buyer beware is something all consumers should remember even when it comes to online gambling.





Online Casino Games Failed To Be Tested

Back in the day, the tech investment cycle used to be predictable with the production of new technologies like TVs, processor chips, and even monitors that take some time to be introduced in the market, thus preparing competitors for the upcoming swing. However, tablets and mobile phones have changed the game, making the market movement unstable at some points. You could see that there is rise on one day and a sudden drop on another. Sometimes, even mere downloadables like apps create ripples in trading floors, discretely affecting others in the same industry.

Zynga is most popularly known for its games accessible on the internet through Facebook and other social networks and mobile platforms such as Apple iOS and Google Android. It is a California-based limited liability company organized in April 2007. Zynga has a market cap of $2.06 billion with shares trading at $2.63 with a P/E ratio of 130.50 and P/S ratio of 1.8. The company provides social game services to 240 million average active users in over 175 countries for free, generating revenue through in-game sales of virtual goods and advertising. In 2012, the company launched several new games, including Hidden Chronicles, Zynga Bingo, Scramble with Friends, Slingo, and Dream Heights. These games have become popular with players, spanning more than a number of genres.

Zynga’s growth has slowed since its IPO when it was an overnight social media success. The overexcitement during its IPO resulted in the stocks being overvalued. Hence, this recent decline, causing other investors to lament that Zynga is one of the worst IPO performers in recent history, resulted in the company restructuring and streamlining its operations to conform to the new reality.

What’s Good about Zynga?

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) spends in R&D to develop blockbuster new games. In 2012, 50% of its revenues were invested in R&D. In comparison, Acitivision Blizzard which is 6.5 times bigger than Zynga’s value spends the same amount in R&D. Its leadership in the casual/mobile/ social gaming is brought by its extremely popular titles such as Farmville and Mafia Wars, known by so many who use the Internet, with 300 million active users throughout the world. This large user base is mainly the reason for the over enthusiastic response during the company’s IPO. With recent decline in sales however, the market has gone from over excitement to extreme pessimism.

Facing reality means restructuring the organization, cost cutting, and focusing on its core products. Zynga did this by cutting its workforce by 5% and taking down some of its games, saving $15-20 million in the process so that they can reallocate resources to their core areas. A serious intention to enter online gambling is in the works, which began when the company bought patents for online gambling and partnering with UK company Bwin to start online gambling in the UK. If they can move their users of Zynga Poker, which numbers in millions to real online gaming, then this could lead to the company’s revenues jumping significantly. This online gaming option is new and could shift the company’s stock price which is currently undervalued. Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has also partnered with cloud TV service provider Synacor (NASDAQ:SYNC) so that its games can be accessed directly by Synacor’s 24 million subscribers. Finding many ways to provide its games through more channels and platforms is Zynga’s aim and this partnership is a step towards that direction.

Facebook is holding a mystery press event and speculation is rife over what CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to announce. With Facebook set upon making larger profits some are hoping that a new online gambling product will be announced, or at least some technology which will be beneficial to those who enjoy online gambling.

Over the last year Facebook has been focusing on the mobile side of the business and has hugely benefited from its mobile apps.

The apps include games such as Slotomania and Slots Farm and their popularity has encouraged Facebook to further pursue online gambling.

Last month Facebook signed an agreement with 888 Holding to launch real-money gambling products, bingo and then casino games.

Similarly Facebook is ready to enter the regulated UK online gambling market and has joined the campaign to legalise it in the US.

However, this is no guarantee that the press event will have anything to do with online gambling. Popular rumours include the launch of Facebook search or even a Facebook phone. Nonetheless only time will tell so watch this space.

A role that caused a lot of drama during the making of Lovelace has turned out not to be necessary for the drama onscreen.

Last year, Sarah Jessica Parker was a last-minute addition to the film, which features Amanda Seyfried in the life story of the woman who starred in the 1972 X-rated movie Deep Throat. The Sex and the City actress was an emergency fill-in for Demi Moore, who dropped out of the movie in the middle of production after she suffered unspecified health problems and was hospitalized.

The casting crisis was averted, but with the film now just days away from its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have told EW that it turned out they didn’t need the character after all.

Parker, who played the role of feminist icon Gloria Steinem, has joined a long list of actors left on the cutting room floor.


Epstein and Friedman say the script originally ended in 1984, after porn icon Linda Lovelace went back to her real name, Linda Boreman, and became an anti-porn crusader. They shot those scenes, but as editing was underway the directors decided it would be better to end the story earlier, in the year 1980, which was before Lovelace/Boreman became affiliated with Steinem.

Parker, whom the filmmakers described as very gracious for rushing to fill the role while they were in the midst of shooting, was part of the coda to the film. Epstein and Friedman said her willingness to help out made it especially difficult for them to tell her the performance was no longer needed.

“You never want to make that call,” Friedman said.

“But she was a pro,” Epstein added.

Will we ever see her performance in deleted scenes on the DVD? The filmmakers, who will be seeking distribution at the festival, haven’t gotten that far yet. So the on-set photo above may be the only time we see Parker as Steinem — at least for a while.

Lovelace makes its Sundance premiere on Tuesday.

Unless FB comes up with real and tangible prizes can't see them making a go of the gaming side of the site. Really, one wins nothing except points and other useless junk for the money they spend atm. If they get serious about the prize structure, it may take off. Other than that can't see it.

A TRUSTED shop worker who cheated his bosses out of more than £55,300 in a desperate bid to fund his huge gambling addiction has been spared prison.

He had racked up more than £78,000 on online gambling and once spent £1,800 on poker in just one night, a court heard. James Jennings, 42, of Charles Street, Cleethorpes, admitted two offences of fraud while working as a sales assistant for Ron Ramsdens Ltd.

The first involved abusing his position to the tune of £36,661 between April 1 and December 31, 2011, and the other involved £18,715 between January 1 and March 23 last year. A previous hearing at Grimsby Crown Court heard that it was discovered that refunds totalling £18,000 to £20,000 had been given by the store in Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby. A customer who contacted the store about furniture that was due to be delivered was told that records showed that the order had been cancelled and a full refund of £1,057 had been given.

Inquiries were made and Jennings told the store manager: "I'm sorry. I put this on my card. It's the first time I have done it."

He admitted he was responsible for most of the £18,000 to £20,000 refunds, with payments being made to his credit card since May the previous year.

He admitted that between April 2011 and March last year, he had made refunds to his credit card 51 times, totalling £55,376.

He said he had spent more than £78,000 on online gambling.

Andrew Bailey, mitigating, told a resumed hearing before Hull Crown Court that Jennings had been on benefit after the offer of a previous job he was expecting in July was withdrawn. He had managed to save £300 from his benefit towards repaying the lost cash.

Judge Kate Buckingham told Jennings: "In breach of trust, you had received in excess of £55,000. You readily admitted your dishonest conduct to the police and how you used the funds to finance your online gambling.

"All in all, you spent £78,000 on gambling."

Jennings had used the fraudulently obtained money for his gambling, as well as taking out bank loans and using family savings, said Judge Buckingham.

"You have shown genuine remorse and shame for your dishonesty," she added.

Jennings had received gambling counselling and had joined a retraining programme at college, including working as a teaching assistant. References praised his "hard work and commitment", said Judge Buckingham.

Jennings was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, 200 hours' unpaid work and nine sessions of a probation service Chance To Change programme.

Judge Buckingham ordered him to pay over the £300 he had saved as "some gesture towards compensating your former employer".

No other compensation order was made, meaning that the company will probably either have to write off the loss or pursue a civil claim.