Online Casino: Where Social Media and Gambling Merge

Social media sites like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter have indeed overtaken the way how we communicate, learn about companies and the deals they offer, to acquire information on varied things, events, and organizations. Nowadays, social media are not merely used by the young people, as more and more generations are getting more comfortable with it. These sites have in fact ingrained themselves in our daily lives. And whether we like it or not, social media have made us addicted to so many things, especially online gambling.

Today, casino operators make use of social media in various ways. They utilize it to advertise news, events, and other special offerings on their FB pages and Twitter feeds so that for those who “like” and “follow” them would be updated to the minute details about their fave casinos. In addition, game designers and software providers find social media very useful as well. Their company pages announce new games and show demo versions and video clips on sites. It is also an effective way to drum up interest in their products and to get the fans excited about their new games.

Among the things that social media offers the gambling industry, one thing that is not offered is the ability to gamble with real money. Given that the most popular social media  companies are located in the US, the United States has laws against online gambling for real money, these companies are skirting the issue my offering the players a virtual currency to gamble with. This virtual currency is not money in the sense that you can withdraw it and spend it elsewhere. This is only fictitious and cannot be used on other sites.

The gaming companies with pages on Facebook would offer their members and players an initial sum of virtual currency that can wager while they play the classic casino games such as poker, scratch cards, blackjack, and slot machines on social media sites. This is similar to internet casinos that allow people to play for fun money. Though you do not win real cash, you get to experience the fun that comes along with the gambling experience. In case you run out of your virtual money, you can earn or purchase it by buying advertised products, filling out a survey, or inviting friends to join.

Since these sites do not reward the players with cash, they find other ways to recognize the players and make them feel special. There are some gambling sites on Facebook that allow posting of the winning hand earned. This does not only offer recognition for the players, but this also becomes an additional advertisement for the operators when it appears on the personal pages of the players, allowing other people to see it. There are also some gambling operators that allow players to buy virtual gifts and send them to the other players. The newest gambling pages in Facebook now offer more than just virtual commerce. Rocket-frog for example offers the players payment in the form of gift cards from the sponsors of the site.