Google ready to let real money games play if self declared
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Google LLC has approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI), promising to remedy the alleged exclusion of certain real money games applications from Google Play The anti-trust regulator had ordered a probe against the US tech major in November 2024 following a complaint by online gaming company Winzo.Google has proposed to allow the distribution of all real money games (RMG) self-declared by developers as permissible under laws on Google Play in India, subject to certain conditions, according to its commitment offer.Developers will have to submit proof that the app is in good standing with a recognised third-party body that meets certain criteria and "which has been recognised in Google's policies as acceptable."Such bodies will determine if it is a permissible game of skill.These recognised third parties will be required to meet objective criteria, and may include industry associations such as the All India Gaming Federation , EGF, and Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports."As with other apps distributed on Google Play, RMGs would also be subject to compliance with applicable laws/jurisprudence and Google policies , including the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement (DDA) and Developer Program Policies (DPP)," Google said."To this end, Google will update its DPP to reflect these changes (in RMG policy update )," it added.It will also replace its pilot programme, which was flagged as discriminatory, by the RMG policy update, "ensuring no further alleged exclusions persist."In parallel, Google is finalising its approach for an appropriate business model that considers developers' commercial models in the RMG industry, it said.Once the CCI formally accepts the commitment proposal, Google will start allowing the distribution of compliant RMGs on Google Play within 120 days, it said.The CCI has sought public comments on Google's offer by August 20.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Work smarter, not bigger': Google is rewriting how work gets done, tells staff to rely on AI, not colleagues
Live Events Competition pushing the AI agenda Making Google's engineers more 'AI-savvy' DeepMind partnership and new internal tools Windsurf deal adds firepower (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel At a recent all-hands meeting, Google's top brass made their expectations clear. The company isn't just investing in artificial intelligence; it wants its employees to adapt to it quickly. Sundar Pichai , Google's CEO, spoke directly to staff about the balance between big investment and tight resources.'Anytime you go through a period of extraordinary investment, you respond by adding a lot of headcount, right? But in this AI moment, I think we have to accomplish more by taking advantage of this transition to drive higher productivity,' he said, according to an internal audio recording obtained by Google's parent company, is now planning to spend $85 billion on capital projects in 2025. That's up from the earlier $75 billion projection. Most of that spending will likely go into infrastructure to support AI models and while capital spending is rising, hiring is not.'We are going to be going through a period of much higher investment and I think we have to be frugal with our resources, and I would strive to be more productive and efficient as a company,' Pichai added. He also said he was 'very optimistic' about how the company is currently also acknowledged the broader competition in the tech world, saying, 'We are competing with other companies in the world. There will be companies which will become more efficient through this moment in terms of employee productivity, which is why I think it's important to focus on that.'The push towards tighter teams and AI-driven work isn't unique to Google. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently told his staff that its corporate workforce would shrink over time as more tasks are handled by AI a company-wide email, Jassy wrote employees should start 'to get more done with scrappier teams.'Microsoft's Julia Liuson, who leads its developer tools division, told staff in June that 'using AI is no longer optional.' Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke went even further in April, telling teams they must show that AI cannot do the job before asking for more people or the same meeting, Brian Saluzzo laid out the company's internal roadmap for rolling out AI tools across engineering teams.'We feel the urgency to really quickly and urgently get AI into more of the coding workflows to address top needs so you see a much more rapid increase in velocity,' said Saluzzo, who oversees the technical foundations behind Google's core do that, Google has been building a suite of internal tools and learning platforms. Saluzzo pointed to a site called AI Savvy Google, which includes toolkits, courses and sessions tailored to specific product areas. The goal is to make sure all engineers — not just AI specialists — can use these technologies in their daily added, 'We have a portfolio of AI products available to employees so folks can go faster.'Google's engineering education team has partnered with DeepMind to create a training programme titled Building with Gemini. The course is aimed at teaching employees how to build effectively using Google's Gemini AI platform and will be rolled out key tool is Cider, an internal AI-powered coding assistant. Since launching in May, it has already seen 50 percent weekly usage among staff. Saluzzo said this kind of tool will soon become part of everyday software development.'They'll become a pretty integral part of most SWE work,' he said, referring to software also noted, 'Employees should expect them to continuously get better.'Google is not just building tools. It's bringing in top talent to accelerate the shift. Earlier this month, the company acquired Windsurf, a high-profile AI startup, in a $2.4 billion deal. As part of the acquisition, co-founder and CEO Varun Mohan, along with key research and engineering staff, joined on the hire, Pichai said, 'I think they will end up helping a lot in this area as well.'Alphabet's employee numbers have risen slightly in recent quarters, but remain below the company's 2023 peak of nearly 191,000 full-time staff. As of the end of June, that figure stands at just over 187,000, based on Alphabet's latest financial in early 2023, Google cut about 6 percent of its workforce and has continued making targeted reductions, including offering buyouts in some message from leadership is consistent: leaner teams, smarter tools, and faster declined to comment on the contents of the the direction is clear. The company is placing its bets on AI — and expects its people to move with it.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Google CEO Sundar Pichai makes surprise commentary debut during India-England Test
Google CEO Sundar Pichai made his commentary debut on Saturday during Day 3 of the fifth and final Test between India and England at The Oval in London. A known cricket enthusiast, Pichai joined veteran broadcaster Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box during India's second innings. Google CEO Sundar Pichai joined Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box (AFP) Pichai was in the box during a key phase of the match, as Washington Sundar hit a quickfire 53 off 46 balls, helping India post 396 in their second innings and set a target of 374 for England. England were 50/1 at stumps. Google CEO, a cricket fan from childhood India-born Sundar Pichai shared fond memories of his love for cricket, telling Bhogle, 'I ran into Sunil Gavaskar at the stadium, and I had a poster of him in my room while I was growing up.' He added that he was a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar – so much so that he would get nervous watching the master blaster bat. Despite running one of the world's largest tech companies, Pichai said that he still finds time to follow the game. 'I catch highlights. I listen to you on Cricbuzz, and I follow podcasts and commentary on YouTube,' the Google CEO told Harsha Bhogle. Pichai has himself been to a part of cricket history — he revealed that the first ever game he'd seen live was the 1986 tied test in Chennai between India and Australia. 'The first game I ever saw live was the Chennai tied test,' he said. 'I was there on the last day, and randomly saw one of the two ever tests in the history of the game that were tied. That's what got me hooked to cricket,' he said. Sundar Pichai on Washington Sundar While Pichai was on air, Washington Sundar was batting, which led to a light moment. 'They call me 'California Sundar' to disambiguate,' Pichai joked, referring to how Google Australia teams distinguish between him and the cricketer after Sundar's 2021 heroics in Australia. Bhogle complimented Pichai's ease in the commentary box, especially his habit of pausing while the ball was being bowled. 'I'm sitting next to the best,' Pichai replied. Commenting on the series, Pichai said, 'What a series it's been. Loved the fight between both teams. At this point, I'd put money on a 2-2,' backing India to win the final match.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
Google Says Reviewing CCI Orders Over Alleged AdTech Market Dominance
New Delhi: Google on Sunday said it is reviewing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) orders into its conduct in the online display advertising market. The trade regulator ordered a thorough probe over a complaint filed by the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF). The CCI said it has decided to club the complaint with ongoing investigations in similar cases and directed the Director General (DG) to carry out a consolidated probe into Google's conduct in the AdTech ecosystem. In a separate order, the CCI dismissed a complaint filed by ADIF against Google, concluding that the allegations raised were already examined and settled in previous cases. The regulator said it is not convinced by the reasons stated by ADIF for distinguishing its allegations from the issues examined in previous orders passed by the regulator. "We are reviewing the CCI's orders. We welcome the CCI's decision to dismiss one part of the complaint,' a Google spokesperson said in a statement. 'We remain confident that our ongoing work with the CCI will affirm that Google's advertising practices have consistently benefited advertisers, publishers, and users, and are fully compliant with competition law,' the company added. ADIF alleged in its complaint that Google has engaged in anti-competitive practices across various layers of its advertising technology stack. ADIF further alleged that Google, through its multiple group entities, has engaged in anti-competitive conduct by self-preferencing its own services in the AdTech ecosystem, including tying and bundling of its publisher ad server (DFP) with its ad exchange (AdX), and linking access to YouTube ad inventory with the use of its demand-side platform (DV360). The CCI said it was prima facie satisfied that Google's conduct warranted scrutiny under Section 4 of the Competition Act, which deals with abuse of dominant position.
