It's gambling game on for Zynga starting Wednesday

We hope you've been saving your lunch money, because starting tomorrow you'll be able to gamble actual clams in two Zynga games. That is, if you live in the U.K.

Real-money versions of ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino will be the first of Zynga's forays into the realm of pay to play. Players will even be able to play a FarmVille-themed slots game (oh boy!).

The games will only be available on the web and for desktop client download, and gated for players age 18 and up. Zynga plans to launch "social versions" of real money games for Facebook and mobile in the U.K. throughout the year.

"Our long term vision is to offer our players the next generation of real money games on multiple platforms in regulated markets worldwide," a Zynga announcement read, also noting that it takes "responsible gaming seriously."

Long-term goals

Zynga's money games will be up and running thanks to bwin.party, an online gaming company.

"This is just the beginning for us and we're looking forward to seeing what our U.K. players think about ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, and creating the most valuable casino games and social experiences for them," Zynga's announcement claimed, suggesting that this could be a test period before the services are launched elsewhere.

While one area of Zynga's business is getting ready to potentially boom, another bit of news from the company is a bit of a bust: OMGPOP CEO and soon-to-be-former head of Zynga's New York office Dan Porter is leaving the company.

Zynga had to write-off OMGPOP as a US$95 million loss after it acquired the company behind Draw Something, and Porter's departure comes after one year with Zynga.

You've got to hand it to the gaming company: Zynga knows when to cut its losses while placing its bets on propositions that could very well pay out.

Via AllThingsD