Zynga's online gambling initiative to launch in the UK next year

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is making good on his promise to expand the social/mobile developer's grasp into the world of online gambling in the first half of 2013, according to Gamasutra. As expected, the roll-out will take place in Not America -- the United Kingdom, specifically.

Facilitating this expansion is bwin.party Digital Entertainment, an existing online gambling operator that has partnered with Zynga to aid in its transition from fake addictions to the real deal. Zynga's first title in this new space will be a slots simulator based on the Farmville franchise, which may explain why the Zynga Slots team was the only one to survive this week's layoffs at Zynga Austin.