Playtech to Deploy Native-First Products Ahead of App Store Changes

Playtech is going to launch native-first products to support the operators preparing to change according to the recent changes in Apple’s App Store guidelines. The new native-first product line includes fully native online casino content and natively compiled games. The new products will also allow Playtech’s clients to easily build native apps through a software development kit.

Peter Mares, CTO of Playtech Games Innovation Labs, said that the changes in the App Store guidelines have created one more “Apple-shaped hoop” for gambling operators to jump through.

Apple’s App Store posted important updates of clause 4.7 of its guidelines in June 2019. The App Store’s revised policies are set to take effect on September 3.

The updated guideline is that the HTML5 games “distributed in apps may not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations” and that “this functionality is only appropriate for code that’s embedded in the binary and can be reviewed by Apple.”

As per the updated guidelines, the gambling operators can no longer repackage their websites via HTML5 technologies and upload these on the App Store. Gambling apps must now include a native functionality, that is all aspects of a gaming or betting app must be native to iOS.

Mr. Mares added that as an iGaming industry veteran, Playtech understands that in order for its clients to succeed, they need some help from the provider in order to be able to continue to operate as usual. This is why Playtech has unveiled its native-first product line that, among other things includes fully native gaming content and natively compiled games.