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 to enter the category in accordance with local laws. The search giant said plans to expand support for real-money games will launch in India, Brazil and Mexico in June, with plans to roll out to more countries in the future.
Google is also considering new service charging models 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 reform the RMG service fee model to reflect the value provided by Google Play and help sustain the Android and Play ecosystem. We are working closely with developers to ensure that our new approach reflects the unique economics of this industry and various developer monetization models," Google's Director of Global Trust and Safety Partnerships Karan Gambhir said in a blog post.
Typically, Google allows real money gaming applications to operate under a specific type of local regulatory framework. With the policy change, the company will allow more types of real-money gaming apps that are legal but not regulated.
Google will start working on adding real-money gaming applications to the PlayStore in 2021. In 2022, Google will start a pilot in India, allowing sports and Rummy chess and card platform applications to log on to the local PlayStore. Last year, Google extended the deadline for approved apps to January 15th. With the latest announcement, the grace period for pilot applications will be extended to June 30.
In 2020, Google pulled Paytm's app from the PlayStore due to the newly introduced sports elements included in the app.
The pilot also has provisions for age verification and ID verification. In November last year, Google started a similar pilot in Mexico, which will also be extended to June 30. After this, developers will be able to publish real-money gaming apps on the PlayStore, except in the sports category.
Google said it will publish detailed policies on the change in the coming months, but it will include precautions such as age restrictions and geo-restrictions.
The new real-money game service fee will be a key factor in Google Play Store revenue as the company faces global scrutiny over allowing developers to use alternative payment methods. Under the user-selected billing plan, Google usually provides a 4% service fee discount. This plan will be piloted in 2022 and there are still some partners.