bwin.party digital entertainment plc: 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

InvestorsPeter Reynolds +44 (0) 20 7337 0100

MediaJohn Shepherd +44 (0) 20 7337 0100

Zynga
Stephanie Hess +1 415 503 0303