Google to allow real money games on Play Store in India

Google Play Store has announced that it will permit hosting real-money games on its platform, provided that they are approved by self-regulatory bodies established under India’s new online gaming regulations. Google started the pilot program in September 2022 to offer daily fantasy sports and rummy apps to users in India, which was supposed to end on September 28, 2023. However, Google is now extending it until January 15, 2024, because of India’s new regulatory framework on online gaming industry.

As per the regulation, the industry will be self-regulated through bodies that the IT Ministry approves. These bodies will verify real-money games hosted on online gaming platforms. However, the new regulations are not yet fully operational since the Ministry has not yet approved any self-regulatory organizations.

With Google lifting its ban on real money gaming apps on the Play Store, Indian real money gaming companies can now rejoice as previously these apps were only available through side-loading, which required users to manually install the app using an APK (Android Package Kit) file. Consequently, the previous policy had limited the reach of real money gaming apps and developers, and they had long requested Google to change its provision.