Google suggests modifying policies to accommodate more financial games on the Play Store within India
Google has announced plans to allow all real-money gaming (RMG) apps on its Play Store in India, marking a significant shift from its earlier pilot program that only included fantasy sports and rummy games. This proposal is part of a set of remedies submitted to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in response to an ongoing antitrust investigation.
Key details of Google's proposal include:
- Developers must self-declare their apps as permissible real-money games according to applicable Indian laws and jurisprudence.
- Developers are required to submit proof of certification from authoritative third-party bodies that have declared the app a "game of skill" rather than a game of chance or gambling.
- Google may update its advertising policies to permit ads for these certified skill-based games, contingent upon developers furnishing the third-party certification as proof that their game is a skill game, not gambling.
If accepted by the CCI, the policy change allowing more RMG apps on Play Store would take effect within 120 days of the regulator’s order, and related advertising rule changes would follow within 150 days.
Regarding the third-party bodies for certification, Google specified that recognized third-party certifiers would meet objective criteria set by Google, potentially including industry associations such as the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), and the e-Gaming Federation (EGF). Advertisers must be in good standing with such recognized third parties to be eligible to advertise RMG apps on Google’s platforms.
This framework aims to level the playing field by allowing all lawful real-money gaming apps access to the Play Store, thereby reducing friction for users currently forced to manually sideload apps—a process that limits discoverability and increases user acquisition costs.
The proposal has received a mixed response. While some industry players have welcomed the move, others like WinZO, the complainant in the antitrust case, have expressed concerns that Google's proposal does not fully address the anti-competitive issues. However, the proposal still represents a significant opening of the Play Store ecosystem to a wider variety of real-money games under stricter verification and certification standards.
In related news, Ayushi Jain, a tech news writer who also plays BGMI, combines her passion for tech and gaming in her work. Google's spokesperson expressed optimism about continuing collaborations with the CCI and the RMG ecosystem. The company also plans to revise its Developer Program Policies and work on a suitable business model for real-money game developers.
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- The proposal by Google to allow all real-money gaming apps on its Play Store in India, among other business issues, involves policy-and-legislation changes, including developers self-declaring their apps as permissible games under Indian laws and obtaining certification from recognized third-party bodies.
- The acceptance of this proposal by the Competition Commission of India could pave the way for stricter technology regulations in India's gaming industry, as developers would be required to prove that their games are skill-based rather than games of chance or gambling.
- As part of its plans for the real-money gaming (RMG) industry, Google is considering revising its Developer Program Policies and collaborating with the CCI, while tech news writers like Ayushi Jain, who combines her interests in technology and gaming, anticipate General-news updates regarding the evolving RMG ecosystem and related policy-and-legislation developments.
