Google to levy service fee on real-money gaming apps

Google will be allowing more types of real-money gaming apps on Play Store this year and also start levying a service fee on them. The initiative will start in India, Mexico, and Brazil from June 2024, with plans to expand to users in more countries in the future. This rollout is based on learnings from several pilot programmes it has conducted in recent years.   

For instance in India, the tech giant ran a year-long pilot starting from September 2022 to offer daily fantasy sports and rummy apps on Google Play to users in India by developers incorporated within the country. The pilot ended on September 28, 2023, and is no longer accepting new apps into the programme.  

However, developers who were participating in the programme can continue to remain on Google Play until June 30, 2024. This is an extension of an earlier grace period that was set to end on January 15, 2024. 

"We’re pleased that this new approach will provide new business opportunities to developers globally while continuing to prioritize user safety. It also enables developers currently participating in RMG (real-money gaming) pilots in India and Mexico to continue offering their apps on (Google) Play," said Karan Gambhir, director, Global Trust and Safety Partnerships at Google, in a blogpost.