Zynga does better than anticipated, but still posts a loss

Today, Zynga announced the results for its latest quarter, ended June 30, 2015. The company made more money than it expected -- $174 million in bookings, or payments in its games -- but the company still lost money in the quarter: $26.9 million.

That's an improvement over the same period a year ago, however, when it lost $62.5 million.

There's good and bad news all over its results: mobile now makes up 66 percent of Zynga's business, up 30 percent year-on-year; daily and monthly active users of its games are dropping fast, though: 23 percent and 32 percent, respectively, year-on-year.

The company's slots franchises are doing well, however: Wizard of Oz Slots and Hit It Rich! Slots both grew from the prior quarter, and the company's social business grew considerably year-on-year, with VentureBeat pegging it at 274 percent.

In an interview with VentureBeat, founder and CEO Mark Pincus talked up the company's plans for the casino biz, including its upcoming launch of a Willy Wonka-themed game.

"The most engaged players are playing a lot of different games. They want the variety. We have a plan to update new reels every two weeks and introduce whole new product lines. What is working for us there is that there is a huge value to getting a winning engine," Pincus said.