Social gaming market to hit $1 billion this year

The social gaming market is expected to surpass $1 billion this year, according to new estimates from eMarketer.

The increasingly popularity of games such as Farmville is expected to drive the market, with money being spent on virtual goods, lead-generation offers and advertising.

In the US, nearly 62 million internet users play at least one game on a social network every month.

In the past, revenues from virtual goods made up the majority of social gaming revenues, and they are likely to continue to bring in the biggest share through to 2010.

However, as the numbers continue to grow, advertising spend in the social gaming arena is forecast to reach $192 million this year – a 60% increase on 2010.  eMarketer also predicts a further 41% rise in ad spend in 2012.

A boost in ad spend will help social gaming’s share of total revenues grow from 14.1% in 2010 to 20.5% in 2012,  eMarketer said.

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