Playdom, the social gaming startup behind uber popular titles like Mobsters and Sorority Life Social Life, has raised $43 million in its first round of funding, we have confirmed. In a statement, the company says it will use the cash to fund acquisitions and expand its pipeline of games.

The deal comes only three days after rival social gaming firm Playfish was purchased by Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) for $275 million in cash, $25 million in equity retention agreements, and the possibility of a $100 million earnout. Playfish itself had raised $17 million in a funding round just a year ago.

Playdom had been rumored for more than a month to be raising a round. The funding was led by New Enterprise Associates. Playdom chairman Rick Thompson, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners also participated. TechCrunch—which first reported the deal—puts the valuation at $260 million.

The company is reportedly bringing in $10 million a quarter from the sale of virtual goods—and claims more than 26 million monthly users. It hired Electronic Arts COO John Pleasants as its CEO in June.

Here’s the release:

November 11, 2009, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA— Playdom, a leading social gaming company, announced today that it has closed $43 million of financial investments as part of its Series A financing. The investment, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), along with Playdom chairman Rick Thompson, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), will be used to finance strategic acquisitions and expand the company’s pipeline of market-leading games.

“We are focused on growing Playdom into a world-class gaming company. A number of compelling games are in development for 2010, and we’re bullish about our future and the potential to bring people together through social gaming,” said John Pleasants, CEO of Playdom. “Social games appeal to everyone, everywhere. Our players range from ages 13 to 80 and come from more than 150 countries, so the opportunity for growth is tremendous.”

In conjunction with this financing, Playdom has added Scott Sandell, general partner at NEA, to its Board of Directors. Sandell joins Playdom’s existing board members CEO John Pleasants and founders Rick Thompson, Dan Yue and Chris Wang.

“We are thrilled to partner with such an exciting company and strong leadership team,” said Sandell. “We believe social gaming is a transformative industry and Playdom is playing a critical role in shaping its future and the future of online social entertainment.”

Playdom currently runs 13 games on leading social networking platforms including Facebook, MySpace and iPhone. The company is the largest game developer on MySpace and has two of the top five role-playing games on Facebook, including its popular titles Sorority Life and Mobsters 2: Vendetta.

Playdom has over 190 employees in offices in Mountain View and San Francisco, CA, as well as a game studio in Eugene, OR.

• Why Social Gaming Is Ripe For A Major Acquisition
• Pleasants To Leave EA, Join Playdom As CEO