Morgan Stanley Looking at Social Gambling

Because there are no regulations when it comes to gambling through social media, such as Facebook, those living in areas where online gambling is not legal can play the range of available games. Zynga, maker of Farmville and Words with Friends, recently partners with bwin.party to create real money games. This will include a suite of poker, slots, and table games. The U.S. company Gamesys created one of the first real-money games. Bingo Friendzy is a bingo game that lets you play bingo on Facebook for cash prizes.

With social gambling, the casinos set up shop through a Facebook app and allow users to deposit money they can then use to play the games and potentially win cash prizes. Getting friends to sign up and play with you increases the amount of money you can win.

Morgan Stanley's Findings

In 2012, the social gambling market was worth $1.7 billion. The U.S. lead the pack with $659.8 million, while Europe was a close second at $446 million.

Morgan Stanley studied the trends and growth patterns and found that by 2015, the social gambling market will likely be worth $2.5 billion. Optimistic models go even higher and suggest the growth could reach $7 billion by 2016. The number of potential social gamers is triple that of online gamblers with more than 170 million currently enjoying social games through Facebook.

The firm went on to say that they see 888, bwin.party, IGT, and Zynga as having the best potential for growth. They also feel that Betfair, Paddy Power, and WMS Industries might surprise people with their success.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a financial firm that operates within 42 countries. Founded in 1935, they help clients choose financial strategies to grow their investments. The company's business covers asset management, institutional securities, and global wealth management.