Competition Commission of India to probe Google's unfair practices
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New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI), the country's fair trade watchdog, ordered an investigation against Google and its affiliates for listing real money gaming apps on the Play Store. Their practices prima facies violate competition norms, the commission found.
The order has come on a complaint filed by WinZo Games Pvt Ltd, a digital gaming platform, alleging that the tech giant abused its dominant market position to stifle competition in Real Money Gaming (RMG) and online advertisement space, PTI reported.
The watchdog has ordered a detailed probe by its investigation arm Director General (DG) after prima-facie finding that Google has violated Section 4 of the Competition Act that pertains to abuse of dominant market position.
WinZo alleged that Google's discriminatory policies were enforced through its Play Store, payment platform Google Pay, and ad service Google Ads. It also said these policies have restricted market access and favoured specific gaming categories, creating an unequal playing field.
As per the complaint, Google's pilot programme, launched in September 2022, allowed only Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) and Rummy apps to be hosted on the Play Store. This decision was arbitrary and discriminatory, favouring specific developers and excluding others, including Winzo, it claimed.
In its 24 page-order, the watchdog said it is of the prima facie view that the restrictions imposed by Google on advertising through its platform limit or restrict the provision of RMG apps other than DFS and Rummy as well as their technical and scientific development in violation of competition law.
"Furthermore, by blocking access to an important advertising channel, Google appears to deny market visibility of such RMG apps, thereby prima facie resulting in a denial of market access for such RMG apps in violation of Section 4(2)(c) of the Act. This prima facie also appears to be discriminatory conduct in violation of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act," it added.
