The famous game creator and provider, Zynga, in their mission to “Connect the world through games”, are trying to get into Real Money Gambling (RMG) by filing for a local government permission to publish this kind of games in the state of Nevada, USA.
The state of Nevada is the only state in the US where it is legal to gamble online as long as the player is located inside the state. The Nevada Gaming Control Board is the authority in charge of granting the permission. If they succeed, Zynga will break into the online gaming market, with the potential for very high profits achieved by turning its current players into real money gamblers.
Even though the go-ahead may take from 12 to 18 months to be granted, it would be the first step in getting other US states to grant online gambling licenses. During the last 2 years, the US Justice Department has been considering lifting the ban on online gambling in order to have more control by protecting its citizens and increasing taxes on revenues.
Zynga already has a partnership in the UK with Bwin to power online casino games, which is expected to bear its first fruits in the first half of 2013.