App stores · Research note
Store Listings for Licensed Gambling Markets
A gambling app's store listing is not one text translated four ways. Google Play requires a responsible gambling statement in the listing and in the app, with local contact details for support services, and allows different products in each of our four markets. The listing, the support line and the deep links behind it should change with the market.
Scope and limits
Based on Google Play's gambling policy pages and Apple's guideline 5.3, read on October 28, 2026. We do not review operators' listings, and store policy is only one layer; each market's licensing and advertising rules also apply.
What every listing needs
Google Play's policy says the "App and its app listing must clearly display information about responsible gambling." Its country page is more specific: every gambling app needs a responsible gambling statement in the listing description and inside the app, and the in-app statement must include local contact information for third-party problem gambling support resources. The common violations page adds that the in-app information must link to an outside support resource. The app also needs an AO (Adult Only) rating or the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) equivalent.
Apple's guideline 5.3.4 does not prescribe listing text, but it requires the licenses and permissions for each location, geo-restriction to those locations and a free download. Because a real-money app exists only in some places, its listing exists only there too.
What changes by market
| Market | Products Play allows | Local support line for the statement |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Online casino games, sports betting, lotteries | National Gambling Helpline, 0808 8020 133 |
| United States | By state, where legal and licensed: casino games, sports betting, horse racing, lotteries, Class II tribal gaming | 1-800-MY-RESET, plus any state line your license requires |
| Ontario | Online casino games, sports betting; lotteries by governmental operators | ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600 |
| Alberta | Online casino games, sports betting | The provincial line your license requires |
| Australia | Sports betting and lotteries; no online casino games, and no online in-play betting under Australian law | National Gambling Helpline, 1800 858 858, and BetStop |
Two consequences follow for Australia. The listing describes a wagering app only, and every deep link and banner that leads to it should come from wagering pages. Linking a casino page to a wagering app's listing would advertise a product the app does not and cannot offer there. Pages that check age or location before showing content need care too; see the note on age gates and crawling.
Listings and deep links
- Banners. Safari's Smart App Banner disappears where the app is unavailable in the visitor's location. Custom banners need the same rule; see app install banners without interstitials.
- Store links in campaigns. Send visitors to the market's web page first, then offer the store. A store link shown outside the licensed area leads nowhere useful.
- Listing text and web pages. The listing can repeat the key facts, but the full terms, license details and help pages belong on the website, where search engines and every visitor can read them, as the note on canonical web pages argues.
A listing review list
- Distribution limited to locations where the operator is licensed for each product.
- Responsible gambling statement in the description, with the market's local support line.
- The same statement and an outside support link inside the app.
- AO or equivalent rating; free download; no in-app purchase for wagering credit.
- Screenshots and text describe only products allowed in that market.
The rules behind this list are set out in the store rules for real-money apps.
Questions
Does a gambling app's listing need a responsible gambling statement?
Yes, on Google Play. Its country page requires a responsible gambling statement in the listing description and within the app, and the in-app statement must include local contact information for third-party problem gambling support.
Can one listing serve several US states?
A single app can be distributed in more than one state, but Google Play allows it only in states where it is legal and appropriately licensed, and the app must block other locations. A state missing from Play's application form is not permitted.
Which support line belongs in an Ontario listing?
A local one. ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600, is the free, around-the-clock line the Ontario regulator points to; our safer gambling page lists the lines for each market.
Sources
- Google Play Console Help, Country/region allowances for gambling apps, no date shown.
- Google Play Console Help, Real-Money Gambling, Games, and Contests, no date shown.
- Google Play Console Help, Common violations for gambling apps, no date shown.
- Apple Developer, App Review Guidelines, last updated October 16, 2026.
- Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), Safer gambling, no date shown.
- Apple Developer, Promoting Apps with Smart App Banners, no date shown.
How we choose and date sources: data sources.