Bingo Friendzy App Lets Facebook Users Gamble Real Money

Gamersys, a gaming company based in the U.K., has launched Bingo Friendzy, a gambling game that lets Facebook users 18 and older gamble their money away on the social networking site.

Bingo Friendzy is a Facebook app that features 90 Ball Bingo and Slots games, according to TheNextWeb.

“People love playing new types of games with their friends on Facebook, and real money gaming is a popular leisure activity in the UK,” Julien Codorniou, Facebook’s head of EMEA Gaming Partnerships, told TheNextWeb. “We’re delighted to be working with Gamesys to enable them to offer their games on Facebook so that people can enjoy playing more games with their friends.”

Those of you who know what Facebook gaming is like may be wondering exactly what playing for “real money” means. After all, users can effectively play games with “real money” right now, assuming they trade that real money for Facebook credits. But what’s revolutionary about Bingo Friendzy is that users will be able to bypass the Facebook credits system (which, quite frankly, puts a damper on the whole gambling spirit), and use their credit cards to put their money where their mouths are.

Because users will play for real money, activating the Bingo Friendzy Facebook app isn’t as easy as accepting a few permissions. Instead, users must sign up for a special Bingo Friendzy account, which requires the user’s e-mail address and physical address. Also, only people who reside in the U.K. are allowed to sign up for Bingo Friendzy (at the moment). Bingo Friendzy will make posts to users’ walls, but these posts will be restricted from showing up in underage users’ (and non-U.K. users’) newsfeeds. Bingo Friendzy will also make available access to self-help tools for gamblers.

And according to TheNextWeb, this is just the beginning: Facebook is looking to partner with more gambling companies, and FarmVille-maker Zynga is looking to make a foray into the gambling world as well. Facebook probably hopes that this is a way to start making real money.

As for me, I’ll stick with the less-risky Slotomania for my gambling fix.

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