According to a blog post from Google, their android app store, Google Play will operate a limited-time application-only pilot to enable DFS and rummy cash game apps by companies established in India to be distributed to customers on Google Play in India. On 8th September 2022, Google announced that they are running this program to enable the distribution of these apps to provide a safe and enjoyable user experience. This development has the potential to expand the scope of the online gaming industry.
Google wants to start this program to enable DFS apps and rummy cash games on their Play Store in India as a result of multiple requests from the Indian companies, which have long expressed outrage at Google for failing to recognize such apps on its store in the second-largest market in the globe while those are rather allowed in many other locations around the world. According to the company’s support website, companies with Indian incorporations who are interested in participating in the trial program must submit an application.
Google is always looking for new opportunities for local developers to launch lucrative ventures and provide satisfying services on Google Play. Through this pilot program, they are taking a cautious approach that will help them gather learnings and maintain a fun and secure experience for their customers.
Google has long maintained a strict embargo against daily fantasy apps, in part because it believes that many inexperienced internet users overspend attempting to understand these programs’ complexities. Google has been showing its tough stance against these sorts of apps until now.
Industry organizations that represent fantasy sports operators have battled Google for years to accept their applications on Play Store, often challenging the legal validity of the company’s assumptions. Rummy games and fantasy sports are acceptable in most parts of India, however, some governments forbid them. In a decision from the previous year, the Supreme Court of India determined that fantasy sports were “games of skill”. As a result, the format is “legal,” the decision said.
Key Points That Need To Be Followed:
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The players must be 18 years or older.
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The addresses have been entered correctly and the local states should allow daily fantasy sports.
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The bank information and PAN have been entered for tax reasons.
Hundreds of companies have successfully grown into impressively huge enterprises in the nation, despite Google’s position on fantasy sports. Tens of millions of users in India are served by these companies using their Android apps that customers used to manually download and install from their websites
What is the impact of this change?
Real money gaming (RMG) applications, which together include DFS and online rummy cash game apps, are a developing industry in the nation. Given the financial risks and uncertainties involved, Google has been wary about making them accessible on its official app store.
However, despite having an estimated 150 million gamers in this industry, it continued to expand in size and popularity. Real money gaming has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, driven by the high inclination for Indian users to spend for games if there is a monetary incentive involved,” including card-based games and online fantasy sports.
Even though governments like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, among others, have outlawed these money-based games, the industry is constantly expanding, with more presence in Tier II and Tier III towns. Google’s action will be a major boost for consumers and developers alike.
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) requires that all businesses that provide these games be either incorporated/registered in India or have a physical presence there in order to address the regulatory ambiguity in this industry.
Users in only those Indian states where the pay-to-play formats of the games are lawful will be permitted to participate in pay-to-play game formats in India. No one under the age of 18 will be provided or targeted by pay-to-play member game forms.
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