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You might start seeing more gambling apps in Google Play soon.
Google announced this week plans to support more real-money gaming (RMG) apps within the Android ecosystem. The games, which typically include everything from bubble shooters to trivia, have users pay a fee with the hope of potentially earning more money when they play. For instance, you might pay $1 to participate in a trivia or bingo game in a bid to win $20.
In 2021, Google started adding RMG apps to the store in markets where there were pre-existing licensing frameworks for online gambling. The company then launched a pilot program with Rummy and Daily Fantasy Sports in India to better understand how the businesses could work within Google Play.
Based on that pilot program, Google plans to launch expanded RMG support in June for users in India, Mexico, and Brazil before expanding into other countries.
That will include games that are not currently covered by an existing licensing framework. But games will need to adhere to Google’s existing developer policies, including age-gating to prevent underage gaming as well as geo-gating that ensures the games are only being played in areas where they’re legal. Several states in the United States, for instance, do not allow RMG games to be played within their borders.
Google says that in addition to the policy change, it will also be adjusting its service fee model for RMG; however, what that adjustment is has yet to be determined.