In order to seek benefit from changing legal landscape in the U.S, beleaguered social gaming company, Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) took its first official step towards entering real-money gambling games business by filling paperwork in Nevada on Thursday.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said that Zynga had filed an application on Tuesday requesting the authority to give its preliminary finding on whether it suitable to hold a gaming license in the state.
Nevada has previously allowed companies to offer online poker; however, Zynga filing does not seek permission to offer specific kind of gambling games.
Post paperwork, Nevada will examine Zynga’s financial standing and regulatory background. The decision on whether Zynga will be awarded a license could take between 12 to 18 months.
Zynga’s latest move holds lots of significance as it will create new revenue opportunities for a company which has seen its fortune fade in the stock market recently. As of Wednesday, Zynga stock was down 75 percent year-to-date.
Just recently it posted declining revenue growth even as it reported loss in the fiscal third quarter.
Although Zynga has long wished to enter real-money gaming business, it is treading with caution as most of the U.S. is still mostly unregulated market. Earlier in October, Zynga announced its plans to partner with U.K based Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment to offer casino style games and real-money poker games in the United Kingdom.
“As we’ve said previously, the broader U.S. market is an opportunity that’s further out on the horizon based on legislative developments, but we are preparing for a regulated market,” Zynga Chief Revenue Officer Barry Cottle said in a statement.
This year, Nevada became the first state in the U.S. to start handing out licensees to companies that wish to offer on-line poker games, restricted to people within the state. Thus far, some of the state’s largest gambling companies such as MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), which has partnered with a U.K. based poker company to work on a site—and Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment have been awarded licenses. However, these companies have not yet started to operate in the state.
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