London based gambling outfit, Gamesys, has developed a real money gambling app for Facebook, a first for the social network. Zynga is saying that they are also planning same type of games to launch next year.

As Facebook struggles to keep investors happy and try to increase profits they are looking at more diverse ways in doing so. This app, called Bingo Friendzy, is only available for members 18 years old or over and in the UK due to gambling restrictions in other regions. Banks and payment processors are  forbidden to provide services to betting or gambling operations in the US. Facebook said Bingo Friendzy was not a joint venture, saying the game had been developed entirely by Gamesys. “Real money gaming is a popular and well-regulated activity in the UK, and we are allowing a partner to offer their games to adult users on the Facebook platform in a safe and controlled manner,” a Facebook spokeswoman told the BBC. They also said that another reason for starting in the UK was because it is “a mature and very well-regulated gambling market”. Gamesys has a gambling licence from the Guernsey, a small island in the English Channel and is able to offer games to the UK. Its other titles include Sun Bingo and jackpotjoy.

This real money gambling app has caused some controversy with opponents of gambling saying it could lead to minors accessing the software and other problems such as gambling addiction. By UK laws, gambling games should not have an image that may entice or associate with the younger generation. But anti-gambling charities are saying that the game design might just do that and are asking for it not to be released on the social network. Facebook has said it has restriction in place so the game cannot be accessed or show an ad to those under the age of 18.