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Android Google Software The Almighty Buck

Google To Allow Gambling Apps In the Play Store (cnet.com) 57

Posted by BeauHD from the play-responsibly dept.
Android users in the U.S. will soon gain access to betting and gambling apps through the Play Store, Google announced Thursday. CNET reports: As of March 1, online casino games, sports betting, lotteries and daily fantasy sports apps will be allowed in certain states. You can see a complete list of what types of gambling apps are allowed in each state on Google's support website.

To be eligible, app makers must complete a gambling application form, comply with state and country laws where the app is being used and have a valid gambling license for each state or country it wants to operate in. These apps must be rated adult only and display information about responsible gambling. Apps must also ensure they prevent minors from being able to use the app, and the app cannot be a paid app on Google Play or use Google Play in-app billing. Other countries gaining access to betting and gambling apps include: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
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Google To Allow Gambling Apps In the Play Store More

Google To Allow Gambling Apps In the Play Store

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  • Huh? (Score:5, Funny)

    by mr_jrt ( 676485 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @06:12AM (#61004950) Homepage

    ...but I thought Robinhood was already on in the Play Store?

    • Re:Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by VAElynx ( 2001046 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @06:26AM (#61004972)
      Maybe they're hoping the deplorables will shift to a gambling medium that reliably extracts their money without threatening the investor class in the process, just like it's been for centuries past.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 )

        you mean like the speculator guy that bragged he was solely responsible for us paying $4.50 a gallon for gasoline? I really have no issue if that piece of shit lost half his net worth.

        • Who is he?
        • Basically.

          Honestly, I love that not only has someone fucked with these parasites, it's been done with their own weapons and fair and square - simply because they've gotten far too careless about looting the economy, and now they're throwing as much of a whinefest as any "pro" scrub in an online game.

          GG and git gud, bitches.
        • Was that supposed to be expensive for gas, try visiting Norway here the prize ( I flooded all applicable takes charges etc) is 40% higher
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • It's already full of gambling in the guise to loot boxes and p2w mechanics.
    • That's in the "rigged manipulated garbage puppet apps run by rich sociopaths" category in the store whereas traditional gambling apps will be filed under "manipulative financial scams with faked odds and fake outcomes."

  • They would have to ban all games otherwise (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 29, 2021 @06:13AM (#61004956)

    It's either allowing gambling or they would have to ban all modern games.

    • As I understand it, the difference between games with a paid gacha or loot box mechanic and Actual Gambling(TM) is that gacha games offer no approved way to convert in-game items to a cash equivalent.

    • True, it's well known that people enjoy gambling a little just for the thrill of it so I think this change makes a lot of sense. After all, that's what makes online casinos like https://slottyvegas.eu/ [slottyvegas.eu] so popular. They offer a bigger amount of different games and slot machines than regular casinos and thanks to automated money transfers it's much more secure. That results in a convenient access to gambling for everyone which of course attracts a lot of users.

  • Still no midget p*rn apps allowed?! (Score:3)

    by thesjaakspoiler ( 4782965 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @06:23AM (#61004964)

    bummer.

  • Why would Google want to be involved in any way with gambling?

    Oh yeah, the "do no evil" motto is long gone...

    • Is gambling evil? That seems a pretty narrow viewpoint. I guess we're pretty evil here in the UK since we've had a gambling apps on the Google Play Store since it was a thing.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

        Is gambling evil? That seems a pretty narrow viewpoint.

        For every winner, there are multiple losers. If gambling venues (including apps and websites) were restricted only to people who can afford to lose money without harming anyone including themselves, then they would be just fine. Since they don't, yes, they are evil. They are preying on the weak, and helping to destroy their lives. If you don't think that's evil... you're evil.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          your very government sanctions gambling all the time. Since when it is for the government to treat the same industry different depending on the company name registered with the secretary of state? So Mega Millions, Powerball, Pick 3, Pick 4, Keno, etc.. those are OK because mommy government said so but other companies doing the exact same things are not OK? That seems pretty hypocritical if you ask me. If you are going to live by a very binary view in life, then you cannot be seen making excuses for others.

          • your very government sanctions gambling all the time.

            My very government does many evil things on a regular basis.

            So Mega Millions, Powerball, Pick 3, Pick 4, Keno, etc.. those are OK because mommy government said so

            Point to where I said that. I'll wait. Forever, as it turns out, since I never said that.

            When you arm yourself, we can try a battle of wits again.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by e3m4n ( 947977 )

              My very government does many evil things on a regular basis.

              So Mega Millions, Powerball, Pick 3, Pick 4, Keno, etc.. those are OK because mommy government said so

              Point to where I said that. I'll wait. Forever, as it turns out, since I never said that.

              When you arm yourself, we can try a battle of wits again.

              Dude, you are like literally one of the biggest liberal fucktards on slashdot, you and rsilvergun both. If a Hillary or Bernie says state sponsored lotteries are good idea, because they fund education and national healthcare, you cock gobble it the entire way, regardless if it makes sense or not. You have done this time, and time, and time again on here. By that very stance you HAVE supported those gambling systems because they were setup and designed by democrat controlled governments. How do I know this?

        • Is gambling evil? That seems a pretty narrow viewpoint.

          They are preying on the weak, and helping to destroy their lives. If you don't think that's evil... you're evil.

          Wow. That went downhill pretty fast. I guess I'm evil then, so no real point in discussing anything.

          Since the OP said 'gambling', not 'gambling venues' can I ask where you draw the line? Am I evil if I say 'bet you can't jump that gap'? Or does a venue need to be involved? Does that include the stock market? Also, does that include anything with the potential for harm? Are pubs evil without the same restrictions? Gun shops?

          • "Wow. That went downhill pretty fast. I guess I'm evil then, so no real point in discussing anything."

            There is only no point if you enjoy supporting destroying lives, and are unwilling to change. In that case, discussion with you is a waste of my time.

            • "Wow. That went downhill pretty fast. I guess I'm evil then, so no real point in discussing anything."

              There is only no point if you enjoy supporting destroying lives, and are unwilling to change. In that case, discussion with you is a waste of my time.

              I assumed you might be able to make a point outside of the hyperbole. My mistake.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      fun fact... you know that pull-down feature to refresh for new content? That is using the psychology of slot-machine gambling addiction

      https://www.we-heart.com/2019/... [we-heart.com]

  • Just look at Trump Casinos. Oh wait...
    • But that's the great thing about "apps" vs. real-world casinos. Building a huge [reviewjournal.com] monument [wikipedia.org] to your own ego does cost a pile of money. Setting up a website, not so much.

  • They already do (Score:4, Informative)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @06:40AM (#61004998)
    Android store is swamped with shitty little scratchcard / coin push / gem match / poker style games that promise big PayPal payouts if you play them forever, being subjected to ad after ad. Naturally the wins diminish to the point that you'll never actually reach the payout threshold because the games are scams but in form and function they're just gambling apps.

  • Do no Evil (Score:3)

    by Canberra1 ( 3475749 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @07:10AM (#61005054)
    Well, they started off like that. All gambling where more than 14% is raked off, should be banned. Why 14% you ask? Ask the racetrack, ask Hungary.It is more offensive when you learn online gambling sites ban you if you just happen to start winning, and give you free sucker money should you go cold turkey.

  • and display information about responsible gambling.

    What is the point of that? Problem gamblers ignore it, and everybody else knows it doesn't apply to them.

  • Gambling apps already allowed in UK (Score:4, Informative)

    by Deaths Hand ( 93704 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @07:30AM (#61005086) Homepage

    This is nothing new for the UK, Ireland, France and Brazil. They have previously already been allowed gambling apps, as per the current Google Play policy https://support.google.com/goo... [google.com]

    I live in the UK, and ads for gamlbing apps that run on Android from the likes of Williams Hill, Sky Vegas, 888 Casino and others have appeared on TV for years.

  • Geolocation Prohibitions (Score:3)

    by ytene ( 4376651 ) on Friday January 29, 2021 @07:51AM (#61005108)
    IIRC Hawaii and Utah have outright bans on all forms of gambling within their state.

    I wonder if there is a requirement for the authors of gambling applications for mobile devices to:-

    1. Only allow the applications to work if the host device allows geolocation access
    2. Leverages that geolocation access to prohibit the applications from working in Hawaii or Utah?

    One of the reasons I ask this is because at the moment the big companies [e.g. Amazon] use questionable devices to get around having to pay taxes, by declaring that any transaction that you enter is between you and some tax-haven-based legal entity wholly owned by the parent company. But a configuration for gambling apps such as I suggest here would completely reverse that and demonstrate that - for the application of *gambling* law, the physical location of the user has primacy. Which introduces an interesting question for lawmakers - if for determination of your legal right to gamble is based on *your* location, how come the determination of a megacorp's tax obligations based on wherever they think they want to declare the transaction to have taken place, irrespective of their processing facility and your location?

    Yes, I appreciate this may sound like head-of-a-pin stuff, but every time a megacorp gets out of paying their fair share of corporation tax, we're the ones who have to pick up the slack. So finding a way to force them to pay more tax is actually beneficial to us in the long run.
  • Wire those reward centers early with the gameification of everything then pivot to gambling later in life. The liberal in me says let people do what they want... The conservative in me says this is exploitation to those who have built and reinforced addictive behaviors from big tech.
    • Looking at my post it appears that being politically liberal/conservative is not always the same as morally liberal/conservative.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 )

        I am not sure what you mean by that. did you mean fiscally instead of politically? because politics often puts its nose in not only fiscal matters, but also moral ones as well.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      the libertarian in me says teach them all the tricks of the trade early and then if they decide to chase that dragon, let them. the psychology of addiction is paramount and front-and-center as part of the interface design criteria in every single big tech platform that rakes in cash.

  • Talk about making money out of other people's misery. They will give the narrative that people of sound mind know how to use these apps sensibly but in reality that is just not the case. It doesn't make logical sense to bet on something that statistically you're always going to lose in the long run, but it's the thrill that these people get hooked on. It doesn't stop at the individual either, many familes will adversely affected by those who just can't help tossing their hard earned into the bottomless pit.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      your argument is a clear argument that facebook/twitter also needs to be removed for the exact same reasons. Those also are deliberately engineered with the same risk/reward gambling addictions and are just as potent at destroying lives, families, everything. To do otherwise shows preferential treatment for some lobbying/gambling organizations (facebook, twitter, instagram, etc) while condemning other lobbying/gambling organizations (the las vegas and reno casino corporations)

      • Sounds good to me, I barely use those hateful companies. Never used twitter and only use facebook when I need to. Though I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a clear argument not to use them. I'm sure they do cause a lot of misery but gambling apps also take your money so definitely worse in my book

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          they only take your money when you let them :-)

          Something like blackjack I can actually understand and follow, but most of those gambling machines make no damn sense to me. Even roulette, when I played at some charity event, confused me in odd way that you can bet in that game. Its not as simple betting on a number and seeing if you win. There all these rows and columns and some other confusing weirdness to its strategy. On cruises I would wander through the casino (after about 3 or 4 drinks since the smoke

  • Past Performance Is No Guarantee of Future Results

    The stock market is gambling unless you are doing insider trading.

  • no way they can take 30% as the lotto / NCG / etc will not allow an fee that big.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )

      the government does not like competition when it comes to reaching deep in your pockets and taking all your money.

  • With the deliberate design of social media tapping straight into the addiction centers of the brain for gambling, the arguments that not allowing gambling apps due to their addictive nature are completely gone. If you were really being addiction conscious they would have pulled facebook and twitter a long long time ago. Those user interfaces are 100% designed to use the most addictive models possible to keep pushing ads to you.

    https://www.we-heart.com/2019/... [we-heart.com]

    https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/so... [umich.edu]

    https://www.ind [indy100.com]

  • Like the states that embraced the lottery and "offshore" casinos, it is clear that Organized Crime has infiltrated Google.

  • Will apple do the same and no in app cut?

    1 there is no way that an state lotto will let apple take an 30% retailer commission. Apple will need to take the states retailer commission + big prize bonus only.

    also pay outs they can't take an cut of that.

    No one will make an sports bet with place with an 30% vig

  • Apps must also ensure they prevent minors from being able to use the app,

    Dad, gambling away, hears child screaming in other room and rushes over, forgetting to lock phone. Child's brother grabs phone and continues gambling. Dad later punishes both children for conspiring to get him away from the phone while secretly admiring his children's ingenuity.

    Google fails to ensure children don't use gambling app.

    The above example is contrived and unlikely. The reality is, it will be a lot easier than this for kids to gamble through Google-blessed gambling apps.

  • "Don't Be Evil" becomes "Harvest Chronic Gamblers".

    Helping people get that little hit of dopamine,
    over and over and over.

  • With so many online casinos, you can get lost in the choice and most of them are disgusting. I suggest just heading over to https://spincastle.com/news/mu... [spincastle.com] and playing Duckdice if you want to know your real chances of winning. They also have the ability to play cryptocurrencies if you are interested in them, so you will be satisfied anyway.

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