Google Changes Policy, To Have Sports Betting Apps On Play Store

• Google plans to allow mobile sports betting apps to be available in the Google Play Store.
• Currently, sports bettors cannot download apps from the Play Store but they are available in the iOS store.
• Sports betting stocks increased following Google’s announcement.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Google has finally changed its stance on regulated mobile sports betting apps and will now allow sportsbooks to be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

While iOS users can simply download mobile sportsbooks from the Apple App Store, Android users would need to download these apps via third party methods or directly from the sportsbooks website.

Now Google will make legal sports betting a bit easier for those in the mobile market, allowing these sportsbooks the be quickly accessed via the Google Play Store.

Google Changes Policy

What is happening exactly is that Google is updating its Real-Money Gambling, Games, and Contests policy in an attempt to allow gambling entities to build sustainable business according to Google.

Initially, the Play Store would only allow gambling operations to be downloaded from the store directly in a few countries such as France, Ireland, and the U.K.

Starting March 1, the updated policy will affect Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the United States, allowing sportsbooks to enter the Google Play Store in these 15 countries.

Daily fantasy sports (DFS) apps will also be able to be downloaded directly from the Play Store. Google will also be allowing advertisements from gambling operations to be displayed.

Sports Betting Stock Surges Following Googles Policy Change

The announcement has led to major growth in sports betting stocks as companies like DraftKings, Penn National, and theScore saw increases in their share values following Google’s announcement.

“This is a significant development for all sports bettors on Android and unlocks a huge market for mobile-app only sportsbooks like ours,” said Aubrey Levy, theScore’s Vice President of marketing and content.

TheScore rose 7%, DraftKings saw a 6% increase, and Penn National saw a 4% increase. Mobile sports betting is the primary source of sports betting in many markets.

Google’s original restrictions caused a major inconvenience specifically since one of the company’s biggest competition in Apple already allowed access via the App Store.

Google changing its stance further cements legal sports betting as the new norm. The early stigma surrounding legal sports betting is slowly, but surely, fading away.

News tags: Android | Apple | Aubrey Levy | BetMGM | California | DraftKings | FanDuel | Google | iOS | iPad | iPhone | mobile | Mountain View | Penn National | Samsung | theScore | William Hill