Even though the social gambling industry is getting bigger and bigger, most people have no idea how it really works. Since social casinos are “the new kids on the block”, we decided to walk you through their world with the following article.

Most people think of a live location when it comes to gambling and casinos. But usually casinos are located in big cities, they’re too overcrowded and loud for many people and of course, there are plenty who simply can’t afford to play there. But since almost everyone loves to play games and take risks for fun, it is natural that options appeared to fill the space. They’re called social casinos.

If you want to compete against your friends, brag about your success and get the thrill of gambling, without risking your own money, social gambling is for you.

These games are easy to access, you simply need to log in to your social media account (Facebook, Google+, Bebo and MySpace all offer plenty of games to chose from), easy to play against friend – all they need is an invite from you to join the games and let you feel the excitement gambling provides without losing your own money.

If you want to make sure you beat your friends you can also get in-game benefits, currencies and other virtual goods for real money which allow you to win at a higher rate.

Some countries even allow their players to gamble for real money in social casinos – even though the majority only allows play money games.

The industry already reached some numbers they can be proud of as it worths more than $2.7 billion worldwide and is growing rapidly. About 20% of the users have already paid real money for aforementioned in-game services. The biggest players in the industry are Playtika, IGT, Zynga and BigFish with their 22-11-9-8% market share.

Whether you think it’s childish to play only for the joy of it, one thing is for sure: social gambling is here, and it’s here to stay.