888 Holdingshas announced that it has an agreement in place with Facebookto enter the real money social gaming industry in the United Kingdom.

Becoming only the second company to take the real money path through the social outlet, 888 will begin by offering Bingo Appy, a real money online bingo game, over Facebook. In the near future, 888 will also offer a full-fledged casino, including slots, and may move into online poker as well. Licensing for the new 888 product will be covered by its existing online gaming license in Gibraltar.

This all comes from 888’s subsidiary Mytopia, which has been dark since August 2011 and was re-launched in April. 888 bought Mytopia in 2010. Not only was Mytopia a social gaming outlet over Facebook, but also it was primed for mobile gaming, making it an excellent acquisition for 888.

“888 has long recognized the potential for social gaming,” Itai Freiberger, Chief Operating Officer of 888, stated during the announcement. “Our Facebook ‘freemium’ offerings have found a significant audience and we are very excited by the opportunity money gaming on Facebook provides. We are working closely with Facebook, ensuring we introduce the best of both worlds of real money and social gaming.”

Julien Codorniou, Head of Games Partnerships in Europe for Facebook, was equally pleased with the agreement between his company and 888. “Facebook is a great platform for playing games with your friends,” he said. “We are really pleased to be working with 888, who has a strong reputation on both the quality and safety of their games.”

Earlier this year, Gamesysbecame the first operation to open up Facebook to the world of real money online gaming. Back in August, the company launched Bingo and Slots Friendzy, also for British customers.

An estimated 1.5 million British online gamblers wager approximately £700 million annually. It is estimated that by 2015, that number could increase to £1.5 billion annually. Because of the reach of Facebook, capturing those customers is critical to garnering the biggest piece of the pie.

A potential pitfall that the companies getting into the Facebook real money gaming arena could have is an over-saturation of the market. Instead of reaching a new audience, the companies may find they are simply recycling existing customers toward a new branch of gaming. In addition, the current real money gaming is only available to British customers, significantly reducing the market on Facebook.

888 is one of the few publicly traded companies to see a positive balance sheet in what has been a murky industry over the past year. 888’s 2012 poker revenues have increased by $21 million this year compared to last, and its casino, bingo, and sports book revenues have increased by $6 million.

The announcement of the deal between the company and Facebook on Wednesday drove the stock price of 888 Holdings on the London Stock Exchange from 109.25 pence to finish Wednesday at 118.25 pence, an 8.24% increase.

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