Google has confirmed its acquisiton of social networking application developers Slide, for a reported $228M. The move follows other investments Google has made in the social networking sector, with a particular focus on game developers, including Zynga and its 28M Texas Hold ‘Em players. This may have serious ramifications for the online gambling community, as Bodog Europe CEO Patrik Selin believes that if/when the United States does actually give online poker its legal blessing, Zynga might well be the best positioned company to capitalize on such a move.
The plot thickens, as Google may have just secured for itself the big fat double-wide traffic lane on the new two-tier interwebz, leaving the other online poker companies to limp down a digital gravel road… Geez, you half expect to wake up tomorrow and discover Google has trademarked the word ‘poker’. Read more.
