Major Development: Gaming apps to be available on Play Store

Real money gambling apps in selected countries…for now

A major development was announced by Google, which, through its Developer Programme Policy, will  now allow players in 15 countries, including the US, to download gambling apps from its Play Store.

The Play Store is the official app store for Google’s Android mobile operating system and is included in all Android software, including mobile phones.

Until now, only Play Stores in the UK, France and Ireland are allowed to showcase gambling apps while players in Brazil can only download apps operated by the Caixa Economica Federal (central bank) for horse racing and lotteries.

This will all change.

As from March, several other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the US will now be able to have gambling apps on their Play Store. These countries join the long list of countries which allow gambling apps – one of them being Malta.

The decision to allow US Play Stores show gambling apps coincides with the introduction of legalisation allowing mobile betting in many states. This move is considered important for US operators and will definitely help the gaming industry to grow.

In Finland only monopoly operator Veikkaus’ apps will be allowed while in Norway there seems to be no restriction on which operator can host the apps. Norway is home to two legal gambling providers – Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto.

Furthermore, Germany only allows sports betting and state lottery apps, despite introducing a licensing system for casinos in July.

The selection process for these gambling apps is a very vigorous one and developers will be obliged to comply with all the laws and standards in each specific country as well as have a valid gambling licence for each country/state.

The products must be free to download, and not use Google Play’s in-app billing functionality. The apps must also display information on responsible gambling.

Furthermore, there must be safeguards to prevent minors from using the app, and it must be rated as Adult Only.

Source: Igamingbusiness

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