Case study: Will Facebook ever host real money casino games?

We use Facebook for everything these days – it’s where we share engagement announcements, spread breaking news, invite our friends to birthday drinks and more increasingly, it’s where we can play top-notch games on both desktop and mobile devices. If you’re among the millions of Facebook users who have been hooked into playing viral games like Candy Crush, Bejewelled Blitz or Farmville, like us you may be wondering when the social media giant will start hosting real money casino games.

In our opinion, it seems like only a matter of time before Facebook cashes in on this potentially huge revenue stream, but is it legally do-able? And would it lead to a boycott from some upset Facebook users?

The current state of Facebook gaming

If you’re not an avid arcade gamer or dedicated mobile user, you may not even be aware Facebook hosts a huge range of games. There are literally hundreds of games available on Facebook, including bingo games, adventure games, role playing games, card games, board games, slots and even casino games.

The difference with Facebook’s casino-style games is they’re not played for real money, but instead for tokens and points which can then be used within the game to earn more play time or certain in-game rewards. Many of these games can be downloaded as free apps directly from the App Store or Google Play for use on iOS and Android devices, and this is where things become a little sneaky.

While Facebook games aren’t technically considered to be real money games, in-app purchases account for some ginormous revenue streams. When we say in-app purchases (the technical name is a micro-transaction), we’re talking about the options games give you to make purchases to either buy more play time, access better features or gain special rewards. These games are free to download and free to play, but they’re so incredibly addictive before you know it you may find yourself using your credit card to buy Bejewelled Blitz booster symbols, or paying to remove the advertisements from Words With Friends.

In 2014, players spent over $1.3 billion on in-app purchases on Candy Crush alone, and in 2013 in-app purchases within free to play games made up 92% of all revenue generated for iOS and Android. We’re talking some serious business here.

Technically, real money games take on an entirely different meaning for Facebook and its gaming affiliates. Whereas in an online casino sense, playing for real money means you have the chance to win cash, real money Facebook games simply mean you’re handing over your hard earned money with no reward other than unnecessary gaming features.

Would it be legal for Facebook to host real money casino games?

The laws regarding online gambling vary between different countries and jurisdictions, but when it comes to Facebook games which are technically “just for fun” there are no regulations in place. Given the huge source of revenue social media games provide, gaming providers and the conglomerates who benefit financially from them (like Facebook, Google and Apple) would naturally like to keep their industry as free from regulations as possible so they can continue to reap the rewards.

Unfortunately for them, many reports are starting to emerge showing a link between younger people playing social media games who move on to become problem gamblers when they reach legal age, which means the regulators are starting to take note. In a bid to keep regulators from moving in and raining on the party, many of the leading social game developers formed an alliance called The International Social Games Association (ISGA) which aims to deter future regulations by providing a representative body to the social media games industry.

While not operating under any specific legislation, the ISGA exists to act as a voice for the industry. Their mission statement is to “provide a unified voice for the industry in legal, regulatory and commercial debates at a time when an increasing number of people are choosing to play social games and the way those games are accessed, played and paid for is changing.”

Our conclusion on Facebook real money games

We can really only speculate as to whether Facebook will ever host real money casino games and only time will tell as to whether stricter regulations are put in place. It’s pretty safe to say if Facebook could legally get away with it, we imagine they’d be jumping at the chance to financially benefit from real money casino gaming.

With Facebook being an open platform to a younger generation and used by people from all walks of life including anti-gambling crusaders, it’d be unlikely Facebook could host real money casino games without causing a giant uproar. However, as technologies advance and the world adapts to the changes introduced by the Internet, anything is possible.

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