MUMBAI: Endemol, the production house that is known to have produced internationally popular formats like Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, Fear Factor is now set to enter the online gaming business. The company has announced that it would be investing $ 13 million in social casino start-up Plumbee as it wants to go beyond the traditional video production.

Till now, the company has been building its digital gaming business internally, mostly by launching gaming apps based on popular shows. Earlier in the year, it had even announced a $40 million investment in Endemol Beyond, an online video network, backed by investor Idinvest Partners. Even in the new initiative, the investor is backing the company.

Endemol and Plumbee together will create premium social casino games. The deal is going to benefit both the companies. Endemol will leverage Plumbee’s international network and will boost the growth of its worldwide user base.

Plumbee that was launched in October 2011, already boasts of games like Mirrorball Slots that is among the top 10 highest grossing social casino games on Facebook. It has more than one million monthly active users and other popular games like Playfish. With a new focus on a mix of free-to-play and real-money games, it wants to tap into both areas. And now, Endemol also plans to cash in on the popularity.

Endemol’s current digital gaming projects include a new initiative to move into app publishing, launching with gaming apps based on shows Pointless and Deal or No Deal.