The social gaming industry has been getting more and more interested in a potentially big new way to make money: online gambling. And investors, who are now able to buy stock in market leaderZynga, are following suit. Today, Zynga told All Things D that it was considering how to approach the new opportunity: “We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than 7 million people playing every day and over 30 million each month. We know from listening to our players that there’s an interest in the real money gambling market. We’re in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity.” The market, which has not been sure what to make of Zynga’s virtual goods revenue model since the company went public at $10 a share last month, reacted by driving its stock up by $0.56, or 6.57%, toclose at $9.09 today. Zynga’s move follows a potential loosening up on the issue by the two platforms it relies on most: Facebook, and the United States government. Recent statements by the US Department of Justicesuggested that online gambling might be legal in many states. And Facebook is reportedly looking at allowing gambling in countries where the pasttime/vice is already allowed. Beyond Zynga Poker, which has dominated the winnings-free gambling category of games on Facebook since it launched in 2007, a few other companies have been building hit games (and getting acquired). Playtika, which owns slot-machine game Slotomania, was bought by gambling empire Caesars Entertainment Corporation for more than $90 million back in May. Meanwhile,Double Down Interactive, creator of mult-game app Double Down Casino, was just bought by International Game Technologies in a deal worth up to $500 million. Source:http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/20/investors-bet-on-social-gambling-znga-closes-up-6-57-now-at-9-09-a-share/

We’ve been hearing rumbles about Groupon taking its Groupon Goods initiative more seriously, including rumors that it was talking with various eCommerce companies about partnering up. Those rumbles have a little more weight today, as the company has acquired YCombinator startup Mertado, the social shopping service that uses Facebook as a distribution platform.
From the Mertado blog:

“Our mission at Mertado has always been to expose a selection of high quality, unique, lifestyle-oriented products to consumers wherever they spend their time. Working toward this goal, we have strived to create shopping experiences that build bridges between content, commerce & community.
Today, we’re pleased to announce that we are continuing this journey by becoming a part of the Groupon family. Groupon has been a pioneer in social commerce in many ways, and when we started talking with them, it became extremely clear that they shared the same set of values as us.”

The startup says in the same post that it will shut the service down on February 28, 2012 and that existing customers will have customer service access until then. Their blog post implies that Groupon Goods is an alternative to Mertado, with the following heavy-handed appeasement, “If you enjoyed shopping on Mertado, we think you’ll love the great local experiences and goods that Groupon offers. Groupon’s subscription is opt-in, and you can register at www.groupon.com/goods.”
Prior to its acquisition, Mertado raised $2.3 million in funding from Rustic Canyon Partners, Blumberg Capital, Redpoint Ventures and Y Combinator.
Source:http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/20/groupon-buys-social-shopping-platform-mertado-to-bolster-groupon-goods/