Google announced today that the company plans to support more real money games (RMG) on the Play Store this year, allowing more types of games in the category according to local laws.
The search giant said the program with expanded support for real money gaming will launch in India, Brazil and Mexico in June with a planned rollout to more countries in the future.
Google is also considering a new service fee model for subscriptions and in-app purchases. However, the company didn’t reveal many details about the cut it will take from developers.
“With this policy update, we will also evolve the service fee model for RMG to reflect the value Google Play provides and help sustain the Android and Play ecosystems. We are working closely with developers to ensure our new approach reflects the unique financials and diverse developer revenue models of this industry,” said Karan Gambhir, Director, Global Trust & Safety Partnerships at Google in a blog post.
Typically, Google has allowed real money gaming apps governed by local regulatory frameworks for a specific type. With the policy change, the company will allow more types of real-money gaming apps that are legal but not subject to regulation.
Google has started working on inclusion real money game apps on play store in 2021. In 2022, it launched a pilot program in India to enable fantasy sports and Rummy apps on the local Play Store. Last year, Google granted an extension to already approved apps until January 15th. And with the latest announcement, the pilot applications will have a grace period until June 30.
In 2020, Google pulled Paytm’s app from the Play Store because the app included newly introduced fantasy sports content.
The pilot also had regulations regarding age verification and identity verification. Google launched a similar pilot in Mexico last November, which will also be extended until June 30. After that, developers will be able to publish their real money gaming apps on the Play Store beyond the fantasy sports categories.
Google said it will publish detailed policies about the change in the coming months, but it will include safeguards such as age limits and geographic restrictions.
A new service fee for real-money games will be a key driver of Google Play Store revenue as the company faces scrutiny around the world to allow developers to use alternative payment methods. It typically provides a 4% discount on service fees under its user choice billing program, which was piloted in 2022 and continues with select partners.
