India’s Competition Commission (CCI) has closed its antitrust investigation into Google’s treatment of real-money gaming apps after a new law banned online money games in the country, leading the CCI to rule that the prohibition voided all concerns.
The case began in 2022 when gaming company WinZO Games complained that Google was unfairly restricting real-money gaming apps on Google Play and Google Ads, arguing that Google’s policy gave preferential treatment to specific categories of gaming apps, including daily fantasy sports and rummy.
In November 2024, the CCI found prima facie competition concerns and ordered an investigation into Google’s conduct. The regulator had identified Google as dominant in markets including Android app stores and online search advertising in India.
However, the case changed after India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act came into force on May 1, 2026, as the legislation prohibited online money games, their advertising, and related payment services, removing the market that was at the center of the investigation.
Google had also ended its real-money gaming pilot and stopped accepting RMG advertisements before the new law took effect, subsequently making WinZO withdraw its complaint in August 2026, citing the change in legislation.
The CCI stressed that closing the case doesn’t mean that it found no anti-competitive conduct by Google, with the regulator making no ruling on the merits of the original allegations, saying the new legal framework had changed the circumstances behind the investigation.
The CCI has also reserved the right to revisit the matter if the online gaming law is stayed, repealed, struck down, or otherwise stops applying, and Google later engages in conduct that raises competition concerns.
