Co-Founder Leaves Zynga

Another one bites the dust at Zynga. For the past few months, several executives for the social gaming site have left for greener pastures, and now co-founder Justin Waldron has decided to take his leave as well.

“I am grateful to have had the chance to help build a company that touched so many people,” reads a statement from Waldron. “Thank you to everyone who has been a part of it

Waldron joined Zynga six years ago when the social gaming company was just an idea in founder Mark Pincus’ head. He was approached by Pincus for help with the development of an online poker game with unique social gaming elements. The result of their teamwork was Zynga Poker, one of the company’s best-selling titles.

This week, Waldron announced that he would be leaving Zynga to pursue his personal business interests. He has not yet announced what his future pursuits are, but we anticipate that he will either continue in the social gaming market or work on his investment portfolio, which include Delectable, Instant Cab and Red Hot Labs.

Greens To Stage Protest of SkyCity Deal

It is no secret that The Greens are opposed to the SkyCity convention centre deal. For months, the political party has argued that the deal is not only harmful to the local community but also that it was carried out in an unethical manner. This week, they will stage a protest of the deal by building a cardboard casino in Aotea Square.

From 7am to 6pm on Monday, October 14th, a life-sized casino made of cardboard will be located in the square. It will consist of 510 pokies, the total number of games that will exist in SkyCity Auckland if the convention centre deal is passed. The Greens encourage residents to visit the casino and write a message on the cardboard voicing their concerns to the government.

The idea of the protest is to show residents the scale of the SkyCity’s potential expansion. The gambling operator will be receiving an additional 230 pokies, and The Greens argue that this is the size of the average casino.

“SkyCity gets a whole new casino without having to go through any of the regulatory process required in law to set up a new casino,” says Greens co-leader Metiria Turei. “We want to show New Zealanders the scale of what the Government has gifted to SkyCity”.

Positive Reaction To New Party Poker Software

Last month, Party Poker released a new software update to help correct a number of issues that had been plaguing players. Gaming industry experts doubted that the update could boost the company’s rating, but a recent report shows that Party Poker is attracting new traffic.

When the new software premiered, poker professionals believed that it came too late. For months, the online poker community complained about many bugs on the site, and Party Poker had lost a lot of traffic. Despite the new software, it was thought that the poker room’s numbers would continue to decline.

However, that has not been the case. According to Poker Update, the online poker room’s software revamp has had a positive effect for the company. Since the software was launched several weeks ago, traffic has increased by 3%. It is currently the fifth most popular online poker website in the market, just behind Full Tilt Poker.

Party Poker’s new platform focuses on a more social gaming experience. Players are encouraged to take part in challenges in order to earn bonus prizes and improve their skills. It is the first of its kind, and we anticipate that it will continue to attract new traffic.

Internal Affairs Wants More From Pokie Grants

Submissions are now open for the Harm Minimisation Bill, and the Department of Internal Affairs wants to make some amendments to the legislation. In particular, Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain wants to increase the amount of money that poker machines donate to community organizations via gaming grants.

At the moment, the moment amount of revenue that pokies must donate is 37%. Mr Tremain would like to see that boosted to 43% over the course of the next four years, which would result in an additional $42 million being donated to local community groups.

He also wants to ensure that pokie grants are delivered back into the community from which the pokie revenue was collected. Low income areas have the highest pokie spending, but pokie grants are distributed evenly across the country. As such, disadvantaged communities receive a disproportionate amount of funding from gaming grants.

“There is a perception that money returned to particular areas is disproportionately low compared to the amount that was raised in that area through the gaming machines,” says Mr Tremain. “The potential harm from gambling in particular communities is not being mitigated through commensurate returns to that community.”