25 Oct 2012 07:00
25 October 2012
bwin.party digital entertainment plc
('bwin.party' or the 'Company')
Exclusive partnership agreement with Zynga
·; Zynga to enter real money gaming in the UK using bwin.party technology
·; New services to be Zynga-branded and will be offered online
·; Zynga's real money poker players to join bwin.party dotcom liquidity pool
·; FarmVille slot being developed by bwin.party for Zynga's real money casino
bwin.party has entered into an exclusive partnership agreement with Zynga Inc., the world's leading provider of social games, to develop and operate real money online and mobile poker and casino services in the UK.
bwin.party will provide a turnkey solution including the requisite operating platform, software and related support, to power Zynga's real money poker and casino services. These services will initially be focused exclusively on UK-based customers and will operate under our Gibraltar gaming license.
Once operational, Zynga's real money UK poker customers will join the bwin.party dotcom player liquidity pool. Zynga's real money casino will be based upon our market-leading PartyCasino and will be differentiated with a number of bespoke features including FarmVille-branded slots.
Zynga and bwin.party are focused on corporate responsibility and have a shared vision for real money games.
Commenting on today's announcement, Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger, the Co-CEOs of bwin.party, said:
"Today's announcement is a further example of our success in leveraging our assets through strategic blue-chip partners. Zynga is the world's leader in social games with hundreds of millions of active players and a significant player base in the UK. We are delighted to have been selected as their chosen partner for this important step in their evolution and hope to expand our relationship into other products and markets."
Barry Cottle, Executive Vice President, Corporate and Business Development, Zynga, said:
"Bringing together Zynga's expertise in social gaming with the top international real money gaming operator is the best way to create the highest quality gaming experiences for our players in the UK. Partnering with an established leader like bwin.party is a strategic and prudent way for us to enter a key RMG market while giving local players the real money games they've been asking us for."
Contacts:
bwin.party digital entertainment plc
Investors
Peter Reynolds +44 (0) 20 7337 0100
Media
John Shepherd +44 (0) 20 7337 0100
Zynga
Stephanie Hess +1 415 503 0303
Notes for Editors:
About bwin.party
bwin.party digital entertainment plc (LSE: BPTY) is a global online gaming company, formed from the merger of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and PartyGaming Plc on 31 March 2011. Incorporated, licensed and regulated in Gibraltar, the Group also has licences in France, Italy, Spain and Denmark. With offices in Europe, India, Israel and the US, the Group generated total pro forma revenue of €816.0m and pro forma Clean EBITDA of €199.3m in 2011. bwin.party commands leading market positions in each of its four key product verticals: online sports betting, poker, casino and bingo with some of the world's biggest online gaming brands including bwin, PartyPoker, PartyCasino and Foxy Bingo. The Group's scale, technology and strong portfolio of games collectively differentiate its customer offer from those of its competitors. bwin.party is a constituent member of the FTSE 250 Index and the FTSE4Good Index Series, which identifies companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. For more information about bwin.party, please click here.
About Zynga
Zynga Inc. is the world's leading provider of social game services with 311 million active users playing its games, which include Zynga Poker, Words With Friends, Scramble With Friends, Gems With Friends, Draw Something, FarmVille2, ChefVille, CityVille, Bubble Safari and Ruby Blast. Zynga's games are available on a number of global platforms, including Facebook, Zynga.com, Google+, Tencent, Apple iOS and Google Android. Zynga is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif.