Facebook furthers real-money gambling play

The agreement will see the games offered to UK users of the social network with 888’s bingo game the first to launch. A casino offering, including slots and other games will follow shortly, according to the gaming firm.

Itai Frieberger, chief operating officer of 888, says: “888 has long recognised the potential for social gaming. Our Facebook freemium [which let users play for fun] offerings have found a significant audience, and we are very excited by the opportunity that real money gaming on Facebook provides.

Julien Codorniou, Facebook Europe’s head of games partnerships, adds: ”Facebook is a great platform for playing games with your friends and we are really pleased to be working with 888, who have a strong reputation on both the quality and safety of their games.”

Both 888 and Facebook have worked together on “play for fun” where users can play but no real money is involved for more than two years with reports claiming the paring building a 630,000-strong audience for Bingo Island.

Facebook debuted a real cash games service Bingo Friendzy in August.

Critics have raised concerns that the move will encourage more “problem gamblers.”