Apple reinstates pulled gambling apps
Apps belonging to operators such as William Hill and Ladbrokes are back in App Store after shock removal by Apple on Friday
An “admin error” which saw a host of real money gambling apps belonging to the likes of William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral pulled from the Apple App Store on Friday has now been rectified eGaming Review has learned.
A number of operators had real-money gambling apps removed from the App Store on Friday following confusion surrounding the technology giant’s request for operators to provide proof of their UK gambling licences.
Apps belonging operators such as Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Paddy Power and Betfred were all removed from the app store, including the main sportsbook apps of both Ladbrokes and William Hill.
A number of operators told eGR the incident had been the result of an “admin error” affecting a number of companies which they expected to be resolved within 24 hours – the apps were reinstated ahead of the weekend’s football fixtures.
Their removal was thought to stem from a switch in the UK’s 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 on Friday morning and while operators are understood to have complied with the request, it is thought Apple applied licences to individual apps rather than operators’ 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 Apple’s 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.