Google Play Decision Favors Blockchain-Based Digital Asset Sales

In what some have hailed as a victory for artists and game makers active in the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Google Play announced on Wednesday that it is updating its user policy to allow more blockchain-based transactions.

As per the policy update, developers must complete a declaration for apps facilitating the sale of blockchain-based content. This modest requirement sets the bar pretty low for those seeking to market their NFTs, gaming, and gambling apps.

Google Play Opens the Gates Wide

In an announcement posted on Android Developers Blog, Google Play’s Group Product Manager Joseph Mills stated his platform’s overarching goals. Google Play aims “to help developers bring innovative ideas to life,” he wrote. To that end, Mills and his colleagues made a decision. “To open new ways to transact blockchain-based digital content within apps and games on Google Play.”

Mills said that he envisions the user policy update ushering in a broad suite of changes. Particularly from the point of view of day-to-day functionality.

He made it clear that the change will not come at the expense of strict internal security. This means total transparency, on the part of apps, about their tokenized assets. Mills gave the example of a game or app that either sells, or offers users the chance to earn, tokenized digital assets. They must clearly declare any and all such inducements, he stated.

The updated policy also expressly forbids developers to “glamorize” potential winnings that users might realize through playing with or trading the assets in question.

Mills laid down the law:

“In line with Google Play’s Real-Money Gambling, Games, and Contests policy, apps that have not met gambling eligibility requirements cannot accept money for a chance to win assets of unknown real-world monetary value, including NFTs.”

As an example, he cited a case where developers might try to offer purchases. But without making clear, at the time of the purchase, the value of the NFT users would acquire. This is against Google Play policy.

Apple’s Big Bite

The updated policy contrasts with that of other tech giants. Some of them do not look as favorably upon entrepreneurs seeking to monetize their assets with a little help from the big companies’ services.

Apple, for example, requires users who want to buy NFTs to use an in-app payment function that diverts 30% of all gross sales to Apple.

As noted in a CBNC story last year, the 30% take provoked so much backlash among users and vendors that Apple ended up in a lawsuit with Epic Games. The lawsuit began in August 2020, and ended in September 2021 with a judgment largely favorable to Apple.

Epic Games has also pursued legal action against Google for its policies with regard to Google Play’s merchandising policies.