Google has announced a global pause on its experiment to allow real-money games on the Play Store due to the absence of a central authority to approve such apps.
Earlier this year, Google had planned to expand support for real-money apps in India, Brazil, and Mexico starting in June. However, the challenge of supporting these apps in markets without a central licensing framework was more difficult than anticipated.
Despite the pause, Google will continue to allow apps from existing pilot programs in India, where fantasy sports and Rummy apps have been permitted since 2022, and in Mexico since November 2023.
A Google spokesperson stated, “Expanding our support of real-money gaming apps in markets without a central licensing framework has proven more difficult than expected and we need additional time to get it right for our developer partners and the safety of our users.”
The company is finding a suitable framework for supporting real-money games while ensuring user safety. Google is also working on a new service fee structure for these types of games but needs more time to finalize the details.
Specifically addressing the Indian market, Google noted the lack of a central licensing framework to identify permissible games, coupled with India’s IT ministry pausing the formation of a self-regulating body for the gaming industry, has made scaling regulations particularly challenging.
