Google announced today that it is globally halting an experiment to allow a new type of paid games on the Play Store, citing the challenges of not having a central authority to approve such apps in some regions.

In January, the company announced that it would begin rolling out real-money apps in June in India, Brazil and Mexico. Notably, India has had a pilot program for fantasy sports and Rummy apps since 2022 and in Mexico since November 2023.The company said it would still allow the apps that were part of the pilot program to continue working on the Play Store in India. "Expanding support for real-money gaming apps in markets without a central licensing system has proven more difficult than expected, and we need more time to prepare for the safety of our development partners and users. Google Play is committed to helping all developers build new businesses responsibly and reach a wider audience across content types and genres," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. The company added that it wants to support real-money games on the Play Store, but is struggling to find a suitable system for it. Google also said that it is still working on a new service fee structure for such games and needs more time to finalize the details. Google specifically targeted the Indian market, saying that without a central licensing system to identify what types of games are allowed in the country. 

The company may not want to tread the treacherous regulatory waters. In addition, last year India's Ministry of Information Technology suspended the establishment of a self-regulatory body for the gambling industry that would have defined rules for gambling.