MGM Resorts International has been sounding upbeat in the last few months which is largely due to their plans to launch a social gaming website. You may ask what a traditional casino company is doing investing in a social website that offers free-to-play games only.
Millions of us enjoy social online gaming and any type of real money gambling that has a strong social feel to it is a hot commodity these days. It is for this reason that many are mentioning online scratch cards as one of the fastest growing forms of online gaming.
While many enjoy the benefits of massive cash jackpots, there are lots of people who do not have the inclination or time to learn the more traditional forms of online gambling. This is where the timeless classic format of scratchcards comes into its own. There is no one who has not at one time or another played on a scratch card at your local store or experienced the online version of scratch cards.
Well MGM like many others in the U.S. are anticipating the legalization of online gambling in the near future. This of course as all our readers know is due largely to last year’s DOJ change in position on the “Wire Act”, which until now as the main legislation blocking legal internet gambling.
Currently the social gaming market is worth billions and according to Lazard Capital the social gaming industry could be worth over $9 billion by the year 2015.
Social gaming is what scratchcard operators have long since being incorporating into their numerous scratchgame themes. It is no coincidence that many internet scratch tickets look and feel more like a traditional social game and not a heavy form of gambling.
Scratchcard inventors are keen to ensure that most games use a social theme as their central element. It is hard to believe but when you start playing free online scratch cardsyou will be blown away by the countless different themed scratchies that are available. Sports, Romance, Travel, Astrology and even Cuisine are just a sampling of what you can expect from the social scratch card games in 2012.
Social gaming attracts millions of daily users in social networks like Facebook. This millions of online players who enjoy casino based free-to-play games are seen as potentially one of the most untapped markets if and when legalized online gambling becomes a reality.
There are figures been bandied around that confirm that over 41% of U.S. Internet users use social networks to play online games.
MGM Resorts International plans on building a website that has a Las Vegas feel and look to it with the casino theme been prominent. MGM believe that although currently only social gaming will feature, in the future they have the option of changing the free gaming site into a real money gaming site when the legal situation in the U.S. is clarified.
MGM plan on launching the site in the coming months and believe strongly that the new site will increase their brand and widen their customer base in the expectation that in the not too distant future these same online players will enjoy their real online casino games.
This clever marketing strategy by MGM Resorts International is not new as major social gaming giants like Zynga have already got millions of loyal online free-to-play casino players in their much popular games like Zynga Poker. They also have made no secret in their ambition to convert their loyal fan base of millions to real money gamblers.
There trend of many casino operators looking for social gaming in order to attract real money players is good news for old and new scratch card site operators. The affordability of scratchgames that can start from as low as 10p really contributes to the feeling that they are playing social games and not expensive casino games.
Online Scratch cards seem to have been ahead of their time by providing free and low cost games to all. It is only recently that there has been a tremendous surge towards attracting social gamers into the real gambling world. As many veteran scratch players will attest to, this has always been one of the foremost reasons why millions choose online scratchcards as their primary gambling option.