Mobile casino and casino game developers receive deadline extension from Apple. All HTML5 products must be served via a native iOS app or risk being deleted from the App Store.
The decision by Apple to ban all HTML5 based apps from their App Store created quite a stir in the online gambling industry as many online casinos and casino game developers had moved to HTML5 based on the fact that it is agile, uses a common code base and is broadly accessible across most devices and operating systems.
Their original press briefing for this change read:
“HTML5 games distributed in apps may not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations, and may not support digital commerce. This functionality is only appropriate for code that’s embedded in the binary and can be reviewed by Apple. This guideline is now enforced for new apps. Existing apps must follow this guideline by September 3, 2019”
The threat was that any non-compliant application – be it a standalone game or full online casino – that was not served via a native iOS app would be stripped from the storefront. This with approximately 4 months’ notice was deemed virtually impossible by most developers.
A Brief Reprieve
The gambling industry received a brief reprieve with Apple’s announcement that they would be extending the deadline for the conversion of HTML5 apps to iOS native apps until March 5th, 2020.
In response to the negative feedback surrounding the decision as a whole Apple defended their decision saying:
“In order to provide users with the secure and curated experience that they expect on the App Store, we have always specified that apps must be self-contained bundles. This means that the core features and functionality of the app must be contained within the binary of the software, rather than made possible by referring users outside of the approved app, including through the use of HTML5.”
There has been some speculation around the short-term benefit of workarounds however these are not expected to have any long-term benefit. The only answer is for casino providers in regulated regions to develop native iOS gambling apps to guarantee App Store approval.
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