Happy New Year everyone! Just three hours into 2025, I received an email from Google Play Support with the following subject line:
Action Required: Your app is not compliant with Google Play Policies (Luck be a Landlord)
Nothing has changed with Luck be a Landlord in the past few months,
Its a themed slot machine with fictionalised in game currency.
If rated today Australia would give it R18+, but it was reviewed before last years changes so it has been grandfathered in at M with the description “Simulated Gambling”.
https://www.classification.gov.au/about-us/media-and-news/news/new-classifications-for-gambling-content-video-games
Simulated gambling seems to have been grouped in as an adjacent issue as some jurisdictions regulate loot boxes.
Balatro is in a similar position in Australia where it is PG on the play store, M on switch and would be R18+ if reviewed today.
I would just like to add that Australia has the world’s worst gambling IIRC. Our govt is happy to fuck over peoples lives and take money from gambling but a videogame loosely related is a serious issue in need of stopping.