Google will let all Play Store real-money games.

According to the corporation, the games will be permitted as long as local laws do not prohibit them. However, there might be issues with the kinds of commissions Google might demand from games that cost real money.

Google banned real-money games from being played in India for many years until September 2022, when it launched a one-year trial programme for rummy and fantasy sports. (Reuters)

NEW DELHI: Google, the company that makes Android, announced on Friday that it will begin to accept all real-money games on its Play Store marketplace, provided that they do not violate any local laws.

The move follows a September 2022 experiment enabling online rummy games and what Google defined as ‘daily fantasy sports’, and will be taken into action when the pilot concludes on 30 June.

The online gambling business, reeling from demands of over ₹1.5 trillion ($18 billion) from India's tax authorities, applauded the action.

Concerns might exist, though, over the kind of commissions Google would levy on real-money games. 

Google's Director of Global Trust and Safety Partnerships, Karan Gambhir, stated in a blog post published on Thursday that the corporation will be "advancing the service charge model for RMG. (real money gaming) to reflect the value Google Play delivers, and to help maintain Android and Play ecosystems".

In order to "make sure our new approach reflects the unique economics and various developer earning models of this industry," Gambhir continued, Google is collaborating with industry players.

Two individuals with direct knowledge of the development, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that no firm discussions had been held regarding Google's fees and that a decision on the matter could only be made in the coming months.

In the past, Google has assessed a "service fee" to developers that amounts to 15% of payments made through the Play Store listing for income that exceeds $1 million annually, and 30% for revenue that is higher. Google charges 11% and 26% for developers that use third-party billing systems for the same revenue threshold.

According to one of the aforementioned authorities, Mint was informed that implementing such a concept in real-money games would be "impractical and unrealistic."

The real money gaming sector is already required to pay player admission fees, which are subject to a 28% GST.In this industry, a fee of up to 30% would never be feasible because it would increase the net tax and fee deduction for a real-money gaming operator to about 60%, the official stated.

Additionally, developers must pay for the Play Store adverts they create. When these things are taken into account, this results in a player's payment being withheld by about 80%, which is unacceptable in this industry.

Nevertheless, the programme "will support micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as new developers or platforms," stated Roland Landers, Chief Executive of the All India Gaming Federation. By cutting user acquisition and other related expenses dramatically, they will be able to compete with more established businesses."

According to the two industry representatives mentioned above, Google's choice may depend on industry regulations. Up until then, the industry will have access to the more than 2.5 billion people who, according to Google, visit the Play Store each month.

The appointment of self-regulatory bodies (SRBs) is a proposal by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) that is said to have reached a deadlock. The domestic regulatory framework is still under development.

The nomination of self-regulatory organisations has not advanced, according to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the union minister of state for information technology, who spoke with Mint on January 2. So far, we have only gotten one application, and we weren't pleased with it."

"We have explicitly stated our preference for not allowing the industry to govern the SRBs." We won't water down the fundamental ideas," Chandrasekhar declared. "We could take into account that the government grants itself the authority to decide what constitutes appropriate online gaming."