Google is expected to increase the real-money games and plans to bring this support to more countries. Currently, the pilot was limited to India, Mexico and Brazil.
The announcement will come as good news for developers of real-money games (RMG), given they have faced more restrictions on Google Play Store so far.
Official Statement
In a blog post, Google said it will expand its pilot program for supporting real-money games and plans to include more game types and operators. So game developers and operators that were not part of the existing licensing framework will be given an opportunity. The extended pilot program will come into effect starting June 2024 in India, Mexico, and Brazil.
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) and rummy apps can now continue to be on the Play Store in India until June 30, 2024. The post notes, “After that time, developers can distribute RMG apps on Google Play to users in India, beyond DFS and Rummy, in compliance with local laws and our updated policy.”
This means that once the new extended pilot program will come into effect, more types of real-money games will be allowed for distribution via the Play Store. Google does make it clear that these games will need to comply with local laws and its own updated policy. These include ensuring that the apps follow proper age restrictions.