For example, until poker, casino gambling and other forms of online betting are legalized at the federal level in the US, restrictions imposed by Apple will most likely prevent local players from using a native real-money casino and gambling application provided by Apple. Still, the casino applications offered by Apple are high-quality ones. Historically, Apple didn't allow real money gambling apps such as casino games or slots in the App Store. That's one big reason why free slots apps are so popular on iPhone, since it was once impossible to install real money apps without jailbreaking your device.

Apple recently came forward with an official statement announcing the changes to its Apps Store’s existing Terms of Service. The tech company will now require that apps with monetary transactions be written in code native to the iOS system.

This could potentially have a massive impact on the online gambling industry as the many casino app developers use HTML5 to write their programs. With a set timeframe for compliance, Apple has addressed its demands towards the people behind every online gaming, lottery, charitable donation or e-commerce app on their store.

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• Illegal gambling aids, including card counters, are not permitted on the App Store. Lottery apps must have consideration, chance, and a prize. Based on this, our initial understanding is that all sports betting, casino, lottery, poker and horse racing apps will now need to be native to be approved by Apple, and operators need to act fast.

News Highlights

• Apple released an update to the existing App Store’s Terms of Service on June 3rd.
• Real-money transaction apps will need to comply with new demands by September 3rd.
• Apple is pushing apps to its dedicated iOS platform, causing distress among the online gambling industry.

This is the statement that Apple officially made addressing the issue of apps including real-money transactions within their operations:

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.

Apple

Basically, Apple is looking to get all newly launched apps on its App Store –as well as existing ones– to shift from their HTML5 format into the dedicated iOS software development model. However, this is much easier said than done, and even less so considering the timeframe given.

The Hit on the Online Gambling Industry

This is bound to take a toll on the otherwise still blooming online gambling industry across the states. Outside of the five states that have legalized online gambling, this guideline will seriously impede the process for prospective markets.

Nevertheless, it has additionally been taking a toll on the already legalized online gambling market in Pennsylvania. The announcement has had many believing that this has been the original reason for the holdup on launching Penn-state operators’ sports betting apps.

What is more, a more all-encompassing issue is taking over sportsbooks apps that are part of an overall online casino app. These companies have to meet compliance across the entire platform, which translates to re-coding hundreds of titles and content into the dedicated iOS software.

The Story Behind The Change of Policy

The update as it is will not seem too much of an inconvenience to players, especially if you have already downloaded your preferred app prior to it. Even though you wouldn’t be able to get any updates, you would still be freely able to use the app as it is so far.

However, potential new players and app users are now left without all app options coded in HTML5 format, causing customer acquisition estimates and rates to plummet since day one.

To break it down to its components, let’s start by saying that HTLM5 is a coding language used by most developing teams nowadays particularly due to the fact that the end product can fit computers and mobile apps. These apps, specifically, are compatible for iOS users but aren’t built in the dedicated iOS app, which is Apple’s main demand.

What makes this transition most complicated is the fact that it is much more than just reformatting. In fact, roughly three to four months is necessary just to build a somewhat running app on the iOS platform, which is practically unacceptable for all apps including monetary transactions.

This is even more emphasized in the specific case of online gambling apps, as they belong to a highly regulated and tested industry. However, in order to avoid being removed (or denied access to) the Apple App Store, they would have to follow certain steps.

App Requirements to Avoid Being Removed from the Apple Store

1. Meet the impossible deadline to develop the app, have it tested, and licensed.
2. Get the necessary authorization by all jurisdictions and their respective bodies where they will offer the potential player pool.
3. Submit the app it to a scrutinizing review as Apple sees fit
4. In case of some changes, they would have to take it from the top once more.

Apple Above All

The move by Apple is largely seen as pretentious by the public, costing them the inclination of numerous users by the minute. Still, even at that rate, iPhone and iPad users across the US make up about 50% of the population, which is an even greater concern for app developers looking for a sustainable solution.

With the NFL season starting just two days after the deadline, on September 5, 2019, the entire online gambling industry, along with other apps using real-money transactions in their operations have to make a move. They can try to comply or fight back the monopoly that is Apple, or at least what two app developers claim it to be in their lawsuit.

New App Store Review Guidelines For Online Gambling Apps

05 June 2019

Earlier this year, Apple made some updates to their App Store Review Guidelines regarding the use of HTML container apps, which resulted in some of the gaming and sports betting apps being rejected from the Apple App Store due to having limited native features. Many of these apps are wrapped websites or container apps which are cheaper to run and can be easier to build. During this time, Apple provided limited feedback on how many native features a container app should have in order to be approved. But now, Apple has released another update to the App Store Review Guidelines. Let’s take a look at it in more detail.

New App Store Review Guidelines

Below is Apple’s summary of the update:

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.

The actual update can be seen below:

4.7 HTML5 Games, Bots, etc.

Apple App Online Gambling Real Money

Apps may contain or run code that is not embedded in the binary (e.g. HTML5-based games, bots, etc.), as long as code distribution isn’t the main purpose of the app, the code is not offered in a store or store-like interface, and provided that the software (1) is free or purchased using in-app purchase; (2) only uses capabilities available in a standard WebKit view (e.g. it must open and run natively in Safari without modifications or additional software); your app must use WebKit and JavaScript Core to run third-party software and should not attempt to extend or expose native platform APIs to third-party software; (3) is offered by developers that have joined the Apple Developer Program and signed the Apple Developer Program License Agreement; (4) does not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations; (5) adheres to the terms of these App Review Guidelines (e.g. does not include objectionable content); and (6) does not support digital commerce. Upon request, you must provide an index of software and metadata available in your app. It must include Apple DeveloperProgram Team IDs for the providers of the software along with a URL which App Review can use to confirm that the software complies with the requirements above.

Apple App Online Gambling Games

Point 4 is the rule that will now affect gaming operators. To try and understand the impact that this might have on different product verticals, we can see Apple’s definition of ‘gaming’, below:

Apple App Online Gambling Websites

5.3.4 Apps that offer real money gaming (e.g. sports betting, poker, casino games, horse racing) or lotteries must have necessary licensing and permissions in the locations where the App is used, must be geo-restricted to those locations, and must be free on the App Store. Illegal gambling aids, including card counters, are not permitted on the App Store. Lottery apps must have consideration, chance, and a prize.

Based on this, our initial understanding is that all sports betting, casino, lottery, poker and horse racing apps will now need to be native to be approved by Apple, and operators need to act fast. It’s likely that Apple will reject current container app updates that don’t meet the criteria, but they may remain in the App Store until the 3rd September. It’s unclear whether they will be removed after this, but it’s safe to assume that they won’t allow further updates and distribution unless they are changed to become fully native applications. While customers will still have the container versions on their phones, they won’t be able to receive updates and no new customers will be able to download the applications.

What can operators do?

Three months to build a fully featured native sportsbook app from scratch for a major operator is a massive undertaking and potentially unrealistic. It will require sizable and skilled native development teams to ensure all functionalities are fully compliant. However, operators with less complex products may be able to meet the deadline if they start now.

Unfortunately for gaming businesses, it’s necessary to continue trading. While they may be able to keep their container apps on Google Play Store, we can’t be certain that Google won’t follow suit and reject these as well. So we advise to begin looking into fully native apps as soon as possible, following Apple’s guidelines.

The online gambling industry could try to come to an agreement with Apple to be more lenient on the demands for gambling apps, but it’s very unlikely given the power the tech giant holds in the digital space and its lack of involvement in the industry overall.

We’ll be working closely with our clients to help them make the necessary changes to their products and build great products according to the guidelines. If you’d like to discuss the development of native gaming apps with us, please get in touch below.