Facebook is making a great deal of progress in its online gambling venture. Earlier in the year, 888 became the first real-money operator to launch games on the Facebook Games platform. Now, the social network has launched two new real-money apps: one with Zynga and the other with Paddy Power. Paddy Power’s new Facebook application will be called ‘In Play!’.
It will allow players to wager on sporting events using the Facebook Games platform. Offering betting on Facebook provides an all-in-one solution for gaming. Most Facebook users have substituted the social network for their email services and instant messengers, so it makes sense that they would not want to leave the site in order to play their favourite games.
The application will come equipped with a number of safeguards to prevent underage players from accessing the site, as well as those who are located in jurisdictions where online gambling is not regulated. The application will be blocked from anyone under the age of 18, and they will not be able to receive alerts from older friends who have access to the app. “Online betting is a popular and well-regulated pastime in the UK.
Our carefully chosen partners work within stringent regulatory guidelines to ensure their products and services are used safely and responsibly by adults,” says a spokesperson for Facebook. “These products will be invisible and inaccessible to people aged under 18 on Facebook”. However, responsible gambling advocates are not sure that this is enough.
According to the UK’s Gambling Commission, over 1 million young people in the country are addicted to gambling. Parents are concerned that offering gambling apps on Facebook, regardless of age restrictions, will encourage young people to gamble and normalize the activity.
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