Google Play updated its policy to allow gambling and betting applications in more than 15 countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United States, and Germany.
The update will enable developers to create real money gambling apps, in-app ads related to real money gambling, and exciting daily gaming apps available on Google Play in eligible countries. To date, Google has approved gambling and betting programs in only four countries: Brazil, France, Ireland, and the U.K. The latest change is not working in India where gambling apps are illegal. The new policies will take effect from March 1 and will apply to 15 countries, namely Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. However, there are some restrictions in the U.S. Google also claims to review its gambling policies and real money so that more and more developers around the world can build a sustainable business. It is important to note that engineers who roll out a gambling or betting application in any of the eligible countries need to go through the previous application process and perform some legal work. This is not the same as how engineers often remove an app or game from Google Play.
Prior to the new update, Android users in any of the newly eligible countries who want to install a gambling or betting app on their phones should have set it aside as Google does not provide an official channel to download such apps. While Google has expanded access to gambling and betting apps in new countries, the update does not apply to India. Many governments in the country have banned the use of gambling programs. Apps including Paytm and Paytm First Games have also been temporarily banned from the Google Play store in the past due to allegations of allowing sports betting and daily fairy tale games.