Sportsbook apps will be available at the Google Play store effective March 1, according to Google’s Developer Program Policy.
Online casino and online poker apps will also be available on Google Play in states where it’s permitted. As of now, Illinois allows sports betting.
Google’s policy center now states, “We allow real-money gambling apps, ads related to real-money gambling, and daily fantasy sports apps that meet certain requirements.”
Such apps are already available on Apple devices. Still, this should help sports betting operators in Illinois.
Right now, Android users have to go directly to an operator’s website to download a sports betting app. That requires the user to change their security settings.
This change figures to make it much easier for Android users to find and download gambling apps.
Reuters discovered the policy change on Jan. 20.
What Google now says about gambling apps
Here is Google’s updated gambling app policy:
Subject to restrictions and compliance with all Google Play policies, we allow apps that enable or facilitate online gambling in the following countries in the table below as long as the Developer completes the application process for gambling apps being distributed on Play, is an approved governmental operator and/or is registered as a licensed operator with the appropriate governmental gambling authority in the specified country, and provides a valid operating license in the specified country for the type of online gambling product they want to offer.
We only allow valid licensed or authorized gambling apps that have the following types of online gambling products (please consult the table below for the specific types of gambling products allowed in each country):
- Online casino games
- Lotteries
- Sports betting
- Daily fantasy sports
Beyond sports betting apps, Illinoisans should also be able to download the Illinois Lottery app from the Play store on March 1.
Which sportsbook apps are currently in Illinois?
There are currently five sportsbook apps in Illinois. They are:
DraftKings confirmed the news to our sister site, Online Poker Report, last week:
“As sports betting and iGaming continues to expand across the United States, we are excited that DraftKings Sportsbook and Casino apps will soon be available to download for Android users via Google Play.”
DraftKings’ stock price surged on Thursday after the news.
So did Penn National Gaming’s, and Barstool should enter the Illinois market within the next few months.
We expect BetMGM and Unibet to launch in Illinois in the first half of 2021 as well.
Illinois posted $449.2 million sports betting handle in November.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact this news will have, but regardless, it’s excellent news for the operators and Android users.
