5 ms·

Why Zynga Is Leaving Money On The Table

52 points by rabble 15y ago

ismaell 15y ago
I would say tricky, but if they could get away with this, it's a big win. A legal way to get money out of the games would be significantly more attractive for gamers than what they do now in black markets. We know it happens...
a3camero 15y ago
Short version: gambling could make more money than Zynga's virtual good sales model.
- davidtyleryork 15y ago
  Yes and no. We also believe that there is a huge opportunity to merge gambling and gaming in an engaging way.
JonLim 15y ago
I don't think Zynga is really leaving money on the table - they don't have the licenses for the gambling they're talking about in this post, so the money isn't really ON the table. Interesting article, but I am sure Zynga would need their own gambling license to make these games instead of using something like Betably. Just my two cents.
- davidtyleryork 15y ago
  We cannot disclose at this time, but let's just say that that won't be a problem :)
justinpincar 15y ago
Interesting read - looks like Betable could carve out a big piece of the game. Would like to see some citations for those numbers though.
- davidtyleryork 15y ago
  If you follow through the hyperlinks, they are the sources of the nearby data. We can formally cite at the bottom if that is where people are looking for the information.
obiefernandez 15y ago
Don't know what to make of the fact that they use the phrase "get you rich" liberally in their API docs. Check out how the financing works" "In gambling, the house must have enough money on hand to cover all the bets currently in play. This amount limits the number of current users and the amount they’re risking. Betable can provide the house’s backing or you, the game creator can be the house. If Betable provides the backing of the house, Betable does a 70% / 30% revenue share in favor of Betable because it is taking all of the risk instead of the normal 50% / 50% split." From http://beta.betable.com/documents/betable_api_spec_v10.pdf http://beta.betable.com/documents/betable_api_spec_v10.pdf
- chgriffin 15y ago
  Real-money gambling historically generates over 100X more ARPU than typical social gaming revenue streams, so even with that rev split, game developers stand to make much more money than they currently do. Also, unlike other platforms that game developers are sharing their revenues with (iOS, AdMob, etc.), Betable is processing all of the transactions and resolutions related to real-money gambling play. In other words, Betable is much more hands on with helping the developer make money.
- rabble 15y ago
  Betable got the UK license and runs everything through UK servers. Getting a license to do this legally cost a bundle. That's why there's the rev split as it is.
ctide 15y ago
Has everyone already forgotten the recent implosion of poker? I'm sure smaller companies can get away with this by flying under the radar, but should the biggest player in the game go down this road it'd be a short lived trip.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- chgriffin 15y ago
  Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars were breaking the law. That's not what Betable is proposing. Had those two companies stayed outside of the US like Betfair and many other multi-billion dollar real-money gambling and betting companies do (it's a big world out there), then they would have been fine.

52 points by rabble 15y ago

I would say tricky, but if they could get away with this, it's a big win. A legal way to get money out of the games would be significantly more attractive for gamers than what they do now in black markets. We know it happens...

a3camero 15y ago

Short version: gambling could make more money than Zynga's virtual good sales model.

davidtyleryork 15y ago
Yes and no. We also believe that there is a huge opportunity to merge gambling and gaming in an engaging way.

JonLim 15y ago

I don't think Zynga is really leaving money on the table - they don't have the licenses for the gambling they're talking about in this post, so the money isn't really ON the table. Interesting article, but I am sure Zynga would need their own gambling license to make these games instead of using something like Betably. Just my two cents.

davidtyleryork 15y ago
We cannot disclose at this time, but let's just say that that won't be a problem :)

justinpincar 15y ago

Interesting read - looks like Betable could carve out a big piece of the game. Would like to see some citations for those numbers though.

davidtyleryork 15y ago
If you follow through the hyperlinks, they are the sources of the nearby data. We can formally cite at the bottom if that is where people are looking for the information.

obiefernandez 15y ago

Don't know what to make of the fact that they use the phrase "get you rich" liberally in their API docs. Check out how the financing works" "In gambling, the house must have enough money on hand to cover all the bets currently in play. This amount limits the number of current users and the amount they’re risking. Betable can provide the house’s backing or you, the game creator can be the house. If Betable provides the backing of the house, Betable does a 70% / 30% revenue share in favor of Betable because it is taking all of the risk instead of the normal 50% / 50% split." From http://beta.betable.com/documents/betable_api_spec_v10.pdf http://beta.betable.com/documents/betable_api_spec_v10.pdf

chgriffin 15y ago
Real-money gambling historically generates over 100X more ARPU than typical social gaming revenue streams, so even with that rev split, game developers stand to make much more money than they currently do. Also, unlike other platforms that game developers are sharing their revenues with (iOS, AdMob, etc.), Betable is processing all of the transactions and resolutions related to real-money gambling play. In other words, Betable is much more hands on with helping the developer make money.
rabble 15y ago
Betable got the UK license and runs everything through UK servers. Getting a license to do this legally cost a bundle. That's why there's the rev split as it is.

ctide 15y ago

Has everyone already forgotten the recent implosion of poker? I'm sure smaller companies can get away with this by flying under the radar, but should the biggest player in the game go down this road it'd be a short lived trip.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
chgriffin 15y ago
Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars were breaking the law. That's not what Betable is proposing. Had those two companies stayed outside of the US like Betfair and many other multi-billion dollar real-money gambling and betting companies do (it's a big world out there), then they would have been fine.