In the early part of 2019, Apple and it’s App Store Policies came up with a new update and devised a new rule for the need of gambling operators to convert their HTML built application version to the native one. The company said that any gambling operators who fail to follow this new policy would face a possible ban on their app. The result will not be good for the operators as they will not be allowed to publish in the App Store.
A lot of gambling operators cried foul and did not like the new policy as it will severely affect their business in so many ways. The implementation of the policy was supposed to start last September 5 but this date proves to be unrealistic for the operators. Looking carefully into it, it does seem to be a very difficult, nearly impossible task for the game developers to build native apps at such short notice.
However, there was a silver lining for the game developers as Apple became a little concerned about it. It decided to back down with the policy and removed the condition of ban from the gambling apps. Therefore, the operators in the industry who wish to publish their apps on the App Store now have sufficient time at hand. They can work as per the updated policies accordingly. As of now, Apple has provided these developers time till March 2020 to sort out all the issues pertaining to HTML5 built apps for iOS. This would remain the status of policy change unless Apple decided to change its mind about it and bring something new in the picture.
The Reason Behind the Extension
Considering the working and policies of Apple, this change of postponing the policy implementation was definitely not because of any empathy for the game developers. The firm is known for its consumer protection and support, though. Therefore, it believes that switching to the native apps for gambling is going to be a good move to ensure better consumer protection. The developers’ choice had always been HTML5 because it was easier to implement and, thus, reduced overall costs, time, and resources marginally.
The extension in the implementation was granted after discussions with the stakeholders who would have faced a major impact because of the changing policy. The updated policy had an impact on the economy and the tax revenues were lower. Mobile casinos and betting operators have become quite popular in the States and Europe, and putting a ban on certain apps would mean losing out on a significant number of users.
Bottomline
According to Apple, the old app can still provide their services until March 3, 2020, the date of the deadline set by Apple. However, it is important for these gambling operators to comply now to avoid the sanctions. There were unconfirmed reports of some operators who reportedly found a way to address the issue but these loopholes is just a temporary solution. The Apple company will do everything to implement this policy and will deny operators who will not comply with the new guideline.
