Zynga's Online Gambling Efforts Go Live in the U.K.

Zynga Plus Poker and Zynga Plus Casino is presently accessible to US players but has been unavailable for UK players. However, Zynga is close to launching its real-money gaming efforts in the U.K for those that are over the age of 18. Currently, the sites are being used as a marketing tool to spread the word and to start collecting email addresses ahead of the official launch. The marketing tactics include social slogans addressing "for the people."

Good News

This is good news and shows that Zynga is making at least some progress on its promise of expanding into online games where players can win and lose real money. Right now their core business has been selling virtual goods on Facebook. Zynga Plus Poker and Zynga Plus Casino say they will go live in early 2013.

A Number of Games

The casino site is expected to launch 180 games, including slots, roulette and blackjack. Additionally, Zynga's FarmVille brand is expected to be used for one of the slot games. Until then Zynga will have to be limited to markets where gambling has been legalized.

Current Legal Efforts

They have filed an "Application for a Preliminary Finding of Suitability" in Nevada, but the process could take up to 18 months. If approved, a license could take another two to three months. Even then, it still would only be allowed to operate online in one state. Zynga refuses to say how much revenue the real-money gaming sites could generate, but based on the company's current stock price, it seems investors are being cautious. Zynga's shares fell 5 cents, or two percent, today to $2.33 a share.