Zynga won't pursue real-money gambling in US

Zynga will not pursue the real-money gambling market in the United States, and will instead focus its efforts on free-to-play gaming in the region, the company announced today in its quarterly financial report.

Before today, the company had not formally announced whether it had decided to pursue real-money gambling — an initiative in which it's investing heavily in the United Kingdom — stateside. Last fall, the company hired the former senior vice president of online gambling hub 888 to be its new chief operating officer. Later that same year, Zynga also filed for a gambling license in the state of Nevada; one of few states that allows and regulates real-money gambling in online games.

Despite those moves, it sounds like Zynga isn't interested in expanding the operation beyond the United Kingdom.

"Zynga believes its biggest opportunity is to focus on free to play social games," today's report reads. "While the Company continues to evaluate its real money gaming products in the United Kingdom test, Zynga is making the focused choice not to pursue a license for real money gaming in the United States. Zynga will continue to evaluate all of its priorities against the growing market opportunity in free, social gaming, including social casino offerings."