Google’s move on fantasy sports & Rummy gives a fresh impetus to DIwali plans

With a user base of nearly 13 crore, the fantasy sports market is expected to reach approximately Rs 165,000 crore by FY25 from around Rs 34,600 crore in FY21, according to a report by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) as well as Deloitte. Till date, daily fantasy sports apps and online rummy apps were not available on Google play store. However, there are existing unicorns in the sector such as Mobile Premier League worth over $2 billion, Dream 11 valued over $8 billion, Games 24x7.

Recently, Google announced its decision to allow rummy apps and daily fantasy sports (DFS) to exist on its PlayStore as part of its one year pilot program starting from September 28, 2022 to September 28, 2023. Developers in India who are willing to be a part of the pilot test will have to submit an application form. The apps are also prohibited from using Google’s in app billing system and asked to use alternative payment methods, with service fee decreased by 4%.

Throughout years Google has been maintaining somewhat strict regulations against real money gaming apps as these were considered as gambling apps by it, where netizens were at the risk of losing money online. In the year 2020, Google has removed Paytm temporaily from its playstore, because of the promotion of Paytm First Games, the fantasy app of Paytm, considered a betting app by Google.

The Supreme Court and other High Courts have ruled fantasy games as games of skill and legalised them, however they have been banned in a number of states which include Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana, among others. The debate of which game is skill based is quite old now and the pace at which real money games has grown, it would take some more time to get a full consensus from every quarter. The good part is we now have gaming federations like AIGF, TORF, etc., who are bringing in a proper structure, processes and guidelines of operations for the RMG segment. This will definitely help in bringing clarity into this ecosystem, according to a leading gaming company.

The reason for Google allowing fantasy games to be a part of the pilot is due to the fact that the fantasy gaming industry is evolving with each passing day as well as in order to gather enough information about safety and any probable user harms of such apps. To be a part of the pilot, developers have to maintain certain restrictions such as ensuring that their apps are restricted to users who are a member of the states where the rummy and daily fantasy sports apps are prohibited and only users above the age of 18 years can be served by the pilot. While some have welcomed the decision of Google, others have called it as discriminatory for the elimination of all real money gaming platforms from the pilot, except DFS and rummy.

“This is definitely a positive move, finally taking the right step towards online gaming. It would have been better if they added all skill based games in the real money gaming category like poker as well and not just limiting to rummy and fantasy. All start-ups in the rummy and fantasy category (new and upcoming) will be hugely benefited as this will allow them to run ads leading to play store. This will also provide a lot of trust to new gamers and enable them to play with confidence” said an industry spokesperson.

He added, “Google took more than a decade to take this first step, which is extremely positive. It may be a small step for Google, but a giant leap for the real money gaming industry. I am sure it is just a matter of time when google will open up play store for other skill based Real money games like poker.”

“I am thrilled with the announcement of Google Play's pilot program to allow fantasy sports and rummy on the PlayStore. This could potentially be a game changer as the PlayStore has seen a 200% increase in active monthly users in India last year. This development will certainly give further impetus to an industry which is already making strides towards realising the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji's vision of making India a trillion dollar digital economy by 2025,” said Bhavin Pandya, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Games24x7.

Google’s decision to allow DFS and rummy apps to exist on PlayStore, for a year, may be a boost to the online gaming industry in India, which is growing at a rate of 30% annually, and will lead to the emergence of many new gamers. Daily Fantasy Sports or DFS are those games where knowledge of athletic events and athletes is used by the contestants in order to choose or manage rosters of simulated athletes the performance of whom is in direct correspondence to the real performance of human athletes in sports events or on sports teams. Whether Google decides to allow DFS and rummy apps and other real money gaming apps to run on PlayStore permanently, is something to look forward to.