Indian online gaming platform Winzo is suing Google to prevent it from allowing real-money games for fantasy sports and rummy on its platform, saying Google’s doing so is discriminatory, according to legal filings seen by Reuters.
Winzo offers paid games in those categories but also in many others, such as carrom, puzzles and car racing, and will not fully benefit from the newly adopted Google policy.
For years, Alphabet unit Google has not allowed any games involving real money in India, but this month it said that such games for fantasy games and rummy could join the Play Store marketplace in India as part of a year-long pilot program.
Google said in a policy update that those two categories include games in which contestants use their knowledge of sports events and athletes, strategize or memorize playing cards. It does not mention the nature of other sports and their treatment.
In a suit filed in the Delhi High Court, Vinzo said he had approached Google on September 10 to fight the updated policy, saying it was “unfair”, but had received no response, forcing him to seek relief from the court.
Winzo’s lawsuit says Google’s decision “amounts to an unfair trade practice.”
A source with direct knowledge said the case was filed on Monday and will be heard in the coming weeks.
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The legal challenge comes after an Indian government panel called for the creation of a regulatory body to classify online games based on skill or chance, enforce rules to block restricted formats and take a tougher stance on gambling websites.
Foreign investors such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have backed gaming startups Dream11 and Mobile Premier League (MPL), both of which are popular for playing fantasy cricket.
Winzo has around 85 million users in India, it said, each spending an hour on its platform every day. The lawsuit revealed that Vinzo reported an annual revenue of around $13 million (roughly Rs. 100 crore) in 2020-21.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
