Zynga to Take Down Facebook-Based RMG Offerings after Cutting off Ties with Bwin.Party

The real money games (RMG) offered by Zynga to UK Facebook users via ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker will be taken down from the social network’s platform, after cutting off its business ties with online gambling software provider, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. Apparently, the project ventured into by the Zynga-Bwin.Party alliance in 2013 failed to achieve the goal of drawing in more online poker and casino players, since both gaming firms did not fare as well as hoped for during the subsequent years following the launch of the RMG social casino and poker games.

Actually, Bwin.Party started year 2015 by making it known that Win, the Tel Aviv-based social games development studio it created in 2012 is up for sale, since the results of Win’s 2014 operations produced losses of around €7 million (£5 million). The announcement was followed by the closure of Bwin.Party’s Sportster, the real money social sports betting app launched five months earlier, also at Facebook.

Social games developer Zynga, on the other hand, reported a total of $226 million (£147 million) as net loss for year 2014, resulting to an equivalent net loss per share of $0.26 (£0.17). The 2014 financial results declaration came with an announcement that Zynga will close its China-based studio as means to achieve cost savings of around $7 million (£4.5 million). That was in February 2015, while the dissolution of its Bwin.Party partnership came after the company’s shares of stock fell by 16 percent.

ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker RMG social gaming products merely carry the Zynga brand but are actually operated by Bwin.Party. A Zynga spokesperson has told local media that in the past two years, Zynga tried out numerous RMG products offered by Bwin.Party exclusively for the UK gaming market, which included ZyngaPlus Casino and Poker games.

Yet the social gaming company changed strategy in 2013, after then CEO and Zynga founder Mark Pincus stepped down to give way to a new CEO in the person of Don Mattrick, a former Microsoft Xbox Chief. The company came out with an announcement that the firm is no longer interested in pursuing its plans of venturing into the real money online gambling business, and has in fact, withdrawn the gambling licence application submitted to the Nevada Gaming Commission. The announcement came with an affirmation of its commitment in doing its best to provide its social gaming customers the best possible free-to-play casual game products.

In line with that commitment, Zynga’s recent declarations included an announcement that its smash hit Farmville, which has achieved almost 700 million in lifetime installs since the game was introduced in 2009, will have a new release. Entitled “Farmville: Harvest Swap,” Zynga categorizes the new Farmville game as Match 3, as it made use of 3D-rendered graphics, includes progression maps and totally engaging challenges.

Last February 26, 2015, customers of ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker received notification that the applications for the two social RMG products will be taken down from the Facebook platform in a matter of weeks. Those who still have any remaining balance in their gaming account are encouraged to withdraw their funds at the soonest.