Social games company Playsino has secured US$1.5m of new funding.
With a focus on "building the largest social casino game publisher on social networks and mobile platforms," the company has secured the additional money as part of what is expected to be much larger financing to support its ambitious goals.
"Playsino's global potential is a key focus for our firm. Virtual currency can play anywhere and Playsino's unmatched familiarity with it best positions them to become the world's largest social casino game company," said Denis Gamobramov, managing partner of IDM Venture Capital, one of the investors.
Other investors include Pacific Capital Group, a Los-Angeles based private investment firm, Siemer Ventures, a Santa Monica venture capital firm and Jordan Simons, managing partner and co-founder of GCP, a merchant bank.
The financing will accelerate the new Playsino product offerings led by Brock Pierce, new CEO of Playsino and a managing director of the Clearstone Global Gaming Fund.
"Social casino gaming combines the virality and addictiveness of a game like Farmville with the monetisation capabilities of mid to hard core gaming," said Pierce who founded Internet Gaming Entertainment in 2001.
"I believe this sector will have many winners with some creating value in the billions. I aim to keep Playsino at the forefront of the race by ramping internal development, publishing relevant third party content as well as acquiring the best independent players in the space."
Half of all internet users (510 million) play some sort of social game, a 71 per cent increase since 2010. Recent reports also estimate online gambling will be worth $30bn globally in 2013, with the US accounting for $4.5bn of that figure.
"We believe the next evolution of social gaming will involve merging it with what has been the long time appeal of wagering," said David Siemer, managing director of Siemer Ventures. "Playsino's gaming platform is well-positioned to capitalise on this next phase."
