A growing number of Google Play games will soon be able to accept real money

In accordance with local regulations, Google has stated its intention to release additional kinds of real-money games (RMG) on the Play Store this year.

Google has announced that in June, the program will launch in Mexico, India, and Brazil with expanded support for real-money gambling. Additional countries are expected to be included in the future.

A different service charge model for in-app purchases and subscriptions is also being considered by Google. A lot of information on the percentage the firm will collect from developers remains under wraps, however.

To better compensate Google Play for its services and to ensure the continued success of the Android and Play ecosystems, we will be updating our service charge model for RMG as part of this policy change. According to a blog post by Karan Gambhir, Director, Global Trust & Safety Partnerships at Google, the company is working closely with developers to make sure their new strategy takes into account the specific economics and different ways developers earn money in this business.

Generally speaking, Google has approved gambling applications that are subject to the specific regulatory frameworks in each jurisdiction where they are available for real-money play. The corporation will be able to use more types of legal but unregulated real-money gambling applications as a result of the policy change.

In 2021, Google began preparing to add gaming applications with in-app purchases to the Play Store. The company began testing the viability of allowing rummy and fantasy sports applications on the Indian Play Store in 2022. Apps that were previously authorized by Google were granted an extension until January 15th of last year. There will be a grace period for the pilot apps until June 30, according to the newest release.

Due to the inclusion of recently released fantasy sports features, Google removed Paytm’s app from the Play Store in 2020.

Rules regarding proof of age and identification were also part of the experiment. Last November, Google began a parallel trial program in Mexico, and it will continue until June 30th. After that, developers won’t be limited to only fantasy sports categories when it comes to publishing real-money gaming applications on the Play Store.

Within the next several months, Google plans to release comprehensive regulations about the transition, which would include safeguards like age limitations and geo-restrictions.

As Google faces criticism from throughout the globe for allowing developers to utilize alternate payment methods, a new service charge on real-money games will play a significant role in the store’s earnings. In its user-choice billing scheme, which began in 2022 and is currently in beta with certain partners, it normally offers a 4% reduction on service prices.