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Actress and activist Pamela Anderson is the face behind BamPoker, a social gaming company looking to secure the number two spot in the online poker market by next year.
“We are looking to build a community,” noted Elton Pereira, Co-founder and CEO of BamPoker.
Zynga, the world’s number one free-to-play online poker social gaming site may be talking “real money” gambling now, Bam is happy with the “free play” model for the time being.
“Our customers feel a sense of belonging. They are meeting people from around the world,” Pereira added, re-emphasizing the need to build the company’s customer base. “We have the capability to allow real money (in the future).”
In addition to having Ms. Anderson in their corner, Bam has the added advantage of being a private company, and Pereira is looking to keep it that way.
“We are not going to go public if we don’t have to. We want to stay private for (our) users and keep the decision making lean and structured. A private company has advantages.
“I’m quite impressed with what Zynga (a publicly traded company) has accomplished over the years. Being public comes with it's own set of challenges and regulatory requirements. It just doesn't make sense for us at the moment when our primary goals are user acquisition growth and engagement.”
And for BamPoker’s customers, the motivation is simple: Win virtual gifts, bragging rights and there’s a chance they might end up playing face-to-face with Pam herself. This is already a proven business model a la Zynga and BamPoker is looking to capitalize on the concept further while studying the pitfalls that have plagued Zynga in recent times.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
