Accel Partners Bets on Social Games Company Dragonplay

Dragonplay, a Tel Aviv mobile and social games developer, has raised $14 million in a first round of funding from Accel Partners.

The company, which specializes in developing card and casino games for Android and Facebook, said the investment will be used for building more games, expanding to other platforms — like Apple’s iOS — and possible acquisitions.

Dragonplay says it is best known for Live Holdem Poker Pro on Android, which has more than 12 million installs and two million monthly active players.

To date, the casino category has been very successful on social networks, with Zynga’s Poker game dominating at the top of the charts. More recently, the attention has been turning toward real-money gaming as restrictions begin to relax in the U.S.

Accel’s Adam Valkin, who is joining the company’s board, said the company is currently focused on free-to-play social gaming, but Dragonplay will pursue other opportunities as they emerge.

Zynga and other companies, such as Double Down Interactive, which was acquired by a video poker company, and Caesars Entertainment, which went public, have been among the most vocal about going after the opportunity.

Dragonplay, which was founded in 2010 by Sharon Tal, previously raised seed capital from Entrée Capital.

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