- Pennsylvania online gaming operators have been slow to roll out iOS options in the fledgling market.
- Workarounds first allowed Apple users to access online gaming through the browser.
- Hollywood Casino became the first Pennsylvania igaming provider to offer slot titles and video poker via an iOS app.
- Playtech announced last week that it will be releasing a new “native-first” product line.
Two months after Apple announced changes to its real money gambling app guidelines, the online gambling industry is taking steps to ensure customers will still be able to use their iOS devices to gamble over the internet.
In June, Apple revised point 4.7 of their App Store Review Guidelines to prohibit new real money gaming apps that are primarily coded in HTML5. It also set a deadline of September 3, 2019 for existing HTML5 real money gambling apps to convert to using native iOS code.
Apple also announced that its new payment service, Apple Card, scheduled to be distributed in mass later this month, cannot be used to purchase “lottery tickets, casino gaming chips (whether physical or digital), or racetrack wagers or similar betting transactions.”
The policy change was particularly troublesome for online gaming providers planning to participate in the Pennsylvania online gaming market, slated to open just weeks after the change at Apple was implemented. Since then, developers have undoubtedly been working overtime to convert gaming content to conform with the new guidelines.
