Industry experts are holding Google’s approach accountable, labelling it as ‘clearly discriminatory’ and that it should have an inclusive approach by adding other games of skill under the umbrella of its pilot for local developers.

Roland Landers, chief executive officer (CEO) of All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), said it is a progressive step that needs to be inclusive.

This comes at a time when the tech giant is about to start a pilot to allow fantasy and rummy apps on Play Store in India.

From September 28, Play Store will begin a limited pilot allowing the distribution of daily fantasy sports (DFS) and rummy apps to users in India by developers incorporated in the country.

"Games of skill is a broad category and fantasy gaming and rummy are just two game formats considered in this pilot programme by Google. Poker too is considered a game of skill by several High courts in India. Likewise, there are numerous developers who offer classic and innovative games of skill," says Landers.

He said that Google Play Store has almost 95 percent market share of app distribution platforms in India.

"This approach by Google will especially be challenging for MSMEs and new developers/platforms who will not be able to compete with established companies as their varied skill game offerings will be kept out of the Play Store ecosystem," says the AIGF CEO.

Currently players like Dream11 and Mobile Premier League (MPL) are now ruling the turf, clearly showing a spurt in the country’s e-sports.

Suraj Chokhani, Managing Director, Ability Games (11wickets.com, rummy24.com, pokerlion.com) said that despite Google's "hegemony and seemingly arbitrary policies against gaming apps", the Indian online gaming industry has grown from strength to strength garnering over 300 million downloads.

According to Chokhani, "A lot more clarity is needed on the payment gateways that the apps listed on Playstore can use, the criteria for listing, and whether other skill-based gaming apps will also be allowed. We will have to wait and watch to see how the situation unfolds in the near future”.

Abhishek Malhotra, Managing Partner, TMT Law Practice also says that the selective exclusion of all 'Real Money Games' (RMG) except Rummy and Fantasy is clearly discriminatory.

"There needs to be a rethink on this decision failing which Google may invite litigation. This certainly creates an unnecessary distinction between the different kinds of games offered under the RMG category in the fast-emerging gaming industry”, adds Malhotra.