Zynga thinks U.S. online gambling is moving too slow, starts lobbying

The FarmVille maker isn't satisfied with how slowly it's taking for more states to recognize the "power"of online gambling. So, according to The Wall Street Journal, Zynga has began investing in state and federal lobbying to help ensure that it's smooth sailing for online gambling in the U.S. So far, just a handful of states are support the practice that was outlawed years ago.

The investments took place in California and Washington, D.C. could prove crucial to whether Zynga's very public ambitions of creating successful online gambling games actually pans out. (The UK and Europe is nice, but the UK and Europe ... and the U.S. would be even nicer for the developer.)

According to WSJ citing public documents, Zynga has reported spending about $75,000 in the quarter ended this past June on lobbying at the federal level around issues including online gambling. The company even had Platinum Advisors in California to lobby around the Internet Gambling Consumer Protection and Public-Private Partnership Act of 2012 in the same period.

If passed, this bill would allow $30 million licenses for gambling outfits that Zynga could potentially partner in its move into gambling games. However, the bill has met opposition in Native American tribes whose businesses stand to suffer from the onset of online gambling. Lobbying or not, the ghettoization of social gaming online gambling is still a ways away.

Are you excited about or terrified of the onset of online gambling? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

Source: http://blog.games.com/2012/08/15/zynga-lobbies-online-gambling/

jorge posada maurice sendak state of the union sotu boehner john boehner demi moore hospitalized