Smartphones, tablets and social media have forever changed the face of the gaming market. Social gaming was initially thought to be a fad, but it looks like it’s here to stay. The market has become so popular and profitable that even online casino developers have decided to try to create social games that will appeal to a new audience of players.
Zynga was one of the first developers to make the link between social games and casino games. One of their first releases was Zynga Poker, an online poker application that worked like any other poker room, with the addition of social gaming features. Players were able to share their progress with friends and level up to activate unique features. The success of Zynga Poker kicked off the social gaming trend.
Soon, Zynga decided to launch other social casino apps and it wasn’t long before Zynga Slots was available on the Facebook app market. This app offers players free slot games, with many unlockable features and content to share. It led to the development of Zynga Elite Slots, which brings a whole new meaning to the term social gaming by allowing players to work together to game slot online complete levels and win slot machine jackpots. For some time, Zynga had a monopoly on the social casino market, but it wasn’t long before other developers started getting involved. Double Down Interactive launched the popular Double Down Casino app, which was quickly adopted by online gambling developer IGT (International Game Technology). IGT was one of the first real money gambling developers to try their hand at the world of social gaming, and so far it has proved to be a successful company. Double Downs games are still free slots, but the app provides a lot of ad revenue for IGT.
888 Holdings is one of the latest real money gambling operators to make its way into the world of social gaming. The company’s new social casino app is called MAGIC888 and offers players the opportunity to play online slots and other casino games using Facebook’s convenient gaming platform. It works the same way as social casino apps like Zynga Elite Slots and Double Down Casino, allowing players to share their progress with friends and level up to unlock additional content. The only difference is that players can wager real money and win real jackpots.