Google Play will allow more real-money gaming apps, planning to add service fee

In 2021, Google allowed gambling and betting Android apps to appear in the Play Store. Google Play will soon support more of these real-money gaming (RMG) apps, which involve users putting in money with the idea of possibly earning/winning more.

…Google Play will begin supporting more RMG apps this year, including game types and operators not covered by an existing licensing framework

Google previously only allowed RMG apps that governments had established existing regulatory frameworks for. The Play Store used the availability of those regulations to determine whether something was approved or rejected. That approach/reliance meant Google did not permit games that were legal but did not have explicit rules governing their availability.

Google Play will soon allow RMG “game types and operators not covered by an existing licensing framework” but are otherwise legal. This will result in RMG availability in more countries. Developers will have to meet all existing local guidelines in addition to Google policies. 

The RMG apps allowed in the Play Store today are common/old enough to be governed by regulation. This includes Online Casino games, Sports Betting, Horse Racing, Lotteries, and Daily Fantasy Sports. Existing safety policies include age-gating to adults and geo-gating to only offer the apps where they are legal. (In the US, availability is on a state-by-state basis, with the upcoming change not allowing apps that go against regulations.)

Developers, especially those abroad, have been asking to build more types of real-money games, like online versions of local card games, that aren’t established enough to have regulation in place. Before announcing this expanded policy, Google ran local pilots “determine how to support more RMG operators and game types”:

For example, many developers in India were eager to bring RMG apps to more Android users, so we launched a pilot program, starting with Rummy and Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), to understand the best way to support their businesses.

With this policy change, apps part of the RMG pilots, which are coming to an end, in India and Mexico can remain in the Play Store. 

Existing age and location safety rules remain in place, while Google says it will “continue to strengthen them.”

Meanwhile, the company said today that it will be “evolving [its] service fee model for RMG to reflect the value Google Play provides and to help sustain the Android and Play ecosystems.” Previously, these RMG apps had to be free to install and couldn’t use Google Play Billing. As such, Google did not take a service fee, but that’s set to change as part of this expansion. More specifics will be available in the coming months:

We are working closely with developers to ensure our new approach reflects the unique economics and various developer earning models of this industry. We will have more to share in the coming months on our new policy and future expansion plans.

Broader RMG support will start in June for India, Mexico, and Brazil, with plans to “expand to users in more countries in the future.”