As states such as Nevada and New Jersey increase online gambling in the U.S., one of the most intriguing aspects of the new industry is possible partnerships between social game sites—which already offer games such as slots—and real-money gambling sites.
One of the first forays comes from Income Access, which has launched a new Social Gaming Network. Social gaming brands would be able to connect with other partners, using Income Access’ tracking and reporting software. The goal is to grow user bases and bring in more real-money players.
“There are no networks of this kind focused solely on social gaming,” said Income Access CEO Nicky Senyard. “We have been running the leading real-money gaming network for more than a decade, but the industry is rapidly evolving, and it is time to try something new. With the new network we have created a space where marketing partners are able to send previously idle U.S. traffic to the best and biggest social gaming brands not only in the U.S., but also in the world.”
Senyard said as many as 100,000 social game players visit sites every day in the U.S., but due to U.S. regulations, don’t play for real money—it’s called idle traffic.
That should change as online gaming advances in the U.S.
“We are very interested to see what crossover there is going to be between regulated real-money and social gaming traffic, and where real-money traffic will exhibit higher conversion rates in social,” she said in a press release. “This is for the long term, and we feel that if social brands invest their resources into this now, it could well pay off in the future as regulation spreads across the rest of the United States.”
