Online casinos have always been big business with gamers, but the advance of social networking media, such as Facebook and other sites, had promised to take a chunk of the online casinos, with their free to play social networking games. This is no longer a threat however, since the online gambling world has now incorporated its games onto the social media format too.
Recent studies have revealed that of 780 million gamers playing social networking games online, a total of 90 million of those are playing online casino games. Altogether this helps to merge the social media economy into the online casino industry, which already rakes in $30.3 billion per year.
According to research done by the Kontagent, the most popular gambling games played on social networking sites include Texas Hold ‘em Poker, Slotomania, Double Down Casino, Bingo Blitz and Best Casino. These titles helped to contribute to a rise of 60% in casino games at social media sites in 2011, followed by an increase of only 13% in general games, which do not include gambling features.
Further research has revealed that players tend to spend longer and are more deeply engaged when playing social media gambling games, playing every two days, against the every four days of most other non-gambling games. However, social networking games which do not involve gambling generally see 50% of their gamers still playing after six months, whilst for gambling a game that drops to a lowly 8%. There is a number of reasons why this might be, although for the most part, it is more than likely down to money.
Of all the social media sites offering gaming titles, Facebook is without a question the most dominant. A total of 81 million out of the 90 million play on this social networking site, and at least once per day. Furthermore, many more online casinos are trying to get in on the act, by buying out some smaller casino’s games on the site. One example of this is the hefty $500 million IGT paid to acquire the Double Down Casino game.
Is online gambling ever going to be as good on social networking sites, as it is at online casinos? It is too early to tell at the moment, but the business is booming and the stats all point towards it, at least temporarily.