New Apple policy could shut down gambling apps

[The Buzz]

The latest update to the Apple App Store Review Guidelines spells out some new rules for real-money gaming apps that could have a major impact on the U.S. sports betting industry.

The second bullet point in Apple's new Updates to the App Store Review Guidelines reads as follows:

Guideline 4.7. HTML5 games distributed in apps may not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations, and may not support digital commerce. This functionality is only appropriate for code that’s embedded in the binary and can be reviewed by Apple. This guideline is now enforced for new apps. Existing apps must follow this guideline by September 3, 2019.

In other words, as explained by gambling industry strategist Chris Grove: All iOS apps must now deliver all real-money gambling content natively from within the app as opposed to pulling content into the app from other sources on the web.

PlayUSA.com breaks it down further:

Most online casino and sports betting apps contain games or functionality that are “wrapped” versions of a website. These versions are coded with HTML 5 and are not entirely developed native to the iPhone’s iOS platform.

In order for these companies to keep their real-money gaming apps in the App Store, they will have to make sure all aspects of the app are developed natively for iOS. Moreover, they have to submit it and get it approved by Sept. 3.

Another new wrinkle this rule creates is that it will remove existing gambling apps from the app store if they don’t come into compliance. While those with the apps on their phone will likely still be able to access them after Sept. 3, anyone interested in downloading the new app will not be able to until the iOS one is approved and listed.

The three-month lead time to build a functional iOS-based gaming app or get once in compliance is obviously short. That means interruptions in app availability for iOS users might be unavoidable.

PlayUSA believes that the issue is a bigger problem for sportsbooks that are part of a larger online casino; standalone sports betting apps might not have as much of an issue. In West Virginia, standalone sportsbooks are launching; in PA, many sportsbooks will be or are a part of a larger online casino.

And while the uproar gets louder, it’s at least possible sports betting revenue could quiet down. After all, in New Jersey 80% of all bets are placed on a phone. And iOS users far outpace Android users.

Read the entire analysis here: https://www.playusa.com/apple-gambling-app-store-rules/