Paddy Power to Discontinue Facebook-Based Real Money Social Sports Betting App

In an interview with eGR Magazine last week, a Paddy Power spokesperson revealed that the Irish bookmaker has decided to pull out its real money social betting app out of the Facebook social gaming platform, and apparently out of circulation for good. The unnamed spokesperson disclosed that in the coming weeks ahead, users of the Paddy Power Social betting app will receive notification about the sports betting company’s decision to take down the app.

Paddy Power is the third online gambling operator to exit from the social betting channel this year, to which Gamesys was the first when it pulled down “Bingo &Slots Friendzy” in May, followed by 888Holdings in July when it pulled the plug on “Magic888 Casino.”  According to the Paddy Power representative, although social gaming customers received Paddy Power Play warmly during the 2014 World Cup event, its performance subsequently fell short of the betting company’s expectations.

Actually, Paddy Power had launched its social sports betting product at Facebook as Paddy Power In-Play in 2013. Back then, it had already encountered difficulties in drawing the attention of sports betting enthusiasts and Facebook social gaming players. The Irish corporate bookmaker had previously pulled out the app but only temporarily, as the company still believed in its ability to convert potential Facebook social gamers into real money sports punters.

The social betting product was revamped and re-launched as Paddy Power Play in May 2014, and initially showed better promise because punters found the Facebook social app useful during the World Cup Event in Brazil.  However, the success was short lived, as the social betting app did not produce the expected growth. Sports punters and FB players once again lost interest in using Paddy Power Play’s social betting features.

In May 2013, the International Social Games Association (ISGA) published a report entitled Digital + Social + Game = Digsogame, which concluded that digital social games present a commercial business model that is not actually pushed for commercial gambling activities, because the success of the games are dependent on player enjoyment. Digital casino games simulate in part the mechanics of a real casino or gambling game. Although its game context does not involve the risk of losing money, the motivation of winning real cash rewards, is not present in social casino or social betting games.

The ISGA report further indicated that followers of the social gaming and real money game sectors use the platforms for a chosen activity and for a different purpose. Social app users are into social gaming as a means of building relationships within social networks. Accordingly, social games also provide consumers with a form of escape from the real world, yet allow players to take part actively.

Although social casino and social betting games could boost player confidence to get involved in real money gambling, other factors, influence the ability of a real money social betting app from attracting a greater number of social app users. The identity and age verification systems of platforms for social games offering pure enjoyment, and social games offering real money gambling are different, as the latter has to comply with regulatory procedures to prevent minors from accessing a real money-betting site.

The ISGA also cited a separate survey conducted in 2010, which indicated that males are less likely to play social games than female social network users. Although Paddy Power Play incorporated the important features of a social network and its games, sportsbetting is after all, still a male-dominated arena.