Zynga interested in internet gambling and the potential of mobile

Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech get-together in the United States this week, Zynga chief Mark Pincus revealed that his company is “seriously exploring” the potential of real money gambling, and voiced his confidence in the continued growth of the mobile channel for gaming.

Pincus said that the big commercial attraction of social gaming was that places like Facebook were where “all the people are hanging out”, but he observed that the improved connectivity and functionality of smart phones, allied to the fact that most consumers now possessed a smart phone, made the mobile channel increasingly appealing for companies like Zynga.

“Mobile is definitely earlier-stage, but we’re encouraged because all of you are holding smartphones in your hands, half of you are playing games today and we can all do in-app purchases,” Pincus told the audience. “All of the components are there.”

On internet gambling, Pincus did not reject the prospect of Zynga joining a lobbying effort to change U.S. law, but said he would hope to advocate for more “mass market consumer-oriented, and less toward hardcore style gambling.”

In related news, AppData reports that Zynga is still the premier Facebook app, attracting 33.3 million active users a month. The company’s new Zynga Slingo social gaming casino app is also doing well, fe aturing among the most popular offerings with 11.5 million active monthly users.

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