Gambling apps pulled from Apple store
Operators including William Hill and Ladbrokes have real-money gambling apps removed amid UK licence confusion
A number of egaming operators have had real-money gambling apps removed from Appleâs App Store this morning following confusion surrounding the technology giantâs request for operators to provide proof of their UK gambling licences, eGaming Review understands.
At the time of writing, apps belonging to the likes of Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Paddy Power and Betfred had all been removed from the app store, with the main sportsbook apps of both Ladbrokes and William Hill absent.
One operator confirmed the incident to eGR this afternoon and said it was the result of an âadmin issueâ affecting a number of companies and was expected to be amended later today.
Their removal is thought to stem from a switch in the UKâs regulatory framework, which from 1 November required all UK-facing operators to possess a licence from the Gambling Commission in order to accept stakes.
eGR understands that after holding discussions with the Gambling Commission, Apple gave operators a three-week window in which to provide details of their licences or risk having their apps pulled.
The deadline expired this morning and while operators are understood to have complied with the request, it is thought Apple applied licences to individual apps rather than operatorsâ entire portfolio, resulting in their de-listing.
Apple had yet to respond to requests for comment at the time of writing.
This is not the first time egaming firms have fallen foul of Appleâs strict enforcement of App Store regulations. In September, a number of affiliate apps were banned from containing in-app betting modules.
Apple originally applied section 20.5 of its terms and conditions to mean that any affiliate app with such a capability would require its own gambling licence, before reviewing its positioning and reinstating the apps two months later.