Google pauses plans to support more real-money games on the Play Store

Google announced on Friday a global pause on its experiment to introduce new types of real-money games on the Play Store, citing difficulties arising from the absence of a central authority to approve such apps in certain regions.

The company has been experimenting with real-money gaming (RMG) apps on the Play Store through various pilot programs in selected regions. Earlier this year, the tech giant planned to broaden its support for these apps in India, Brazil, and Mexico, starting in July. However, according to Techcrunch, the company has now put these plans on hold, attributing the decision to regulatory challenges in markets lacking proper licensing frameworks.

A Google spokesperson provided further insight into the decision, stating, “Expanding our support of real-money gaming apps in markets without a central licensing framework has proven more difficult than expected and we need additional time to get it right for our developer partners and the safety of our users. Google Play remains deeply committed to helping all developers responsibly build new businesses and reach wider audiences across a variety of content types and genres.”

The company clarified that while the expansion is paused, the RMG apps introduced during the pilot program in India will continue to operate. However, it remains uncertain whether this applies to apps launched in Mexico as part of the same pilot initiative.

Despite the delay, Google is actively working on creating an appropriate framework to eventually support a broader range of RMG apps on the Play Store. Additionally, the company is developing a new service fee structure for these apps, although specific details have yet to be finalized.