Apple Pauses Gambling Ads in App Store Pages After Developers Complain

[Hydrogen]

Apple today rolled out new ad placements in the App Store on the iPhone, allowing developers to advertise their apps in more places, including the main Today tab and in the "You Might Also Like" section at the bottom of individual app listings.

"Now my app's product page shows gambling ads, which I'm really not OK with," tweeted Arment. "Apple shouldn't be OK with it, either."

As noted by Arment, Apple provides advertisers with the choice to have their ad shown in app categories different than their own app's category, allowing ads for gambling ads to appear in listings for unrelated apps like the podcast app Overcast.

The presence of gambling ads in the App Store as a whole has prompted some criticism, with some accusing Apple of being greedy and moving away from policies that the company upheld under former CEO Steve Jobs. Apple earns revenue from both the ad placements and its 15% to 30% cut of in-app purchases in gambling apps.

Beyond upsetting some developers, Apple allowing apps to run ads in other apps' listings has already led to the company facing accusations of anticompetitive behavior. In a tweet last week, legal expert Florian Mueller argued the ads are "another means of increasing the effective app tax rate, forcing developers to buy ads on their own app pages in order to avoid that others steer customers away from there."

In August, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple wanted to nearly triple its current advertising revenue to at least $10 billion per year in the future. Gurman said keyword-based search result ads are coming to the Apple Maps app starting next year.

We've reached out to Apple for comment and asked if the company will consider tightening its rules surrounding the ads. We'll update this story if we hear back.

https://www.macrumors.com/2022/10/26/app-store-gambling-ads-complaints/

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It appears apple developers are not fans of gambling?

If apple based platforms ban gambling advertisements.

Could apple gain a reputation for having an anti gambling stance in the future. Which might lead to a backlash where casinos boycott apple based products?

I don't remember statistics or revenue numbers being published in response to facebook and other platforms banning cryptocurrency advertisements. Or if there was an actual backlash in those cases where social media platforms lost a significant chunk of revenue as a result of bans.

The gambling industry is different from cryptocurrency advertisements. Gambling is a trillion dollar industry worldwide. It might be large enough for ad bans and lost revenue to affect apples bottom line. Perhaps I'm exaggerating the influence of the gambling industry.

[1715351466]

1715351466

[Findingnemo]

Apple can afford to ban the gambling ads because they have enough sources to meet the requirements like profits in lot of other ways where people don't complain at all so it may even give good name in the social media as well. Probably apple users are not happy with that cause apple promoted their ecosystem is highly secure and save people money from online scams even though it is not entirely true still most people think in that way so apple wants to keep that or gradually can bring the changes over the years not all of a sudden.

[PX-Z]

Which might lead to a backlash where casinos boycott apple based products?

I see no reasons for that despite of this announcement of Apple. Also casinos are not in sync in related to decisions, they might do it or not but probably not.

And i think the ban of gambling ads in their platform is caused by the rapidly growing of gambling industry where its has both pros and cons.
You see, obvious list of cons are lots of these gambler become addictive, problematic gambler, and its like human nature to become like that, and also gambling games becomes more common like underage can access it which is really bad.
While its pros are obviously the rise of gambling companies, probably might also rise the use case of cryptocurrency including bitcoin.

[KTChampions]

Beyond upsetting some developers, Apple allowing apps to run ads in other apps' listings has already led to the company facing accusations of anticompetitive behavior. In a tweet last week, legal expert Florian Mueller argued the ads are "another means of increasing the effective app tax rate, forcing developers to buy ads on their own app pages in order to avoid that others steer customers away from there."

WTF i'm reading LOL 
Of course, I understand that corporate squabbles are often illogical, but no one cares because they allow you to get some amount of money from the counterparty, but what kind of perverted logic is this? Maybe I do not understand some underlying reason, but for me it looks like complete nonsense. Maybe someone is deeply familiar with this topic and can explain how such "reasoning/action" is justified?

[jackg]

Beyond upsetting some developers, Apple allowing apps to run ads in other apps' listings has already led to the company facing accusations of anticompetitive behavior. In a tweet last week, legal expert Florian Mueller argued the ads are "another means of increasing the effective app tax rate, forcing developers to buy ads on their own app pages in order to avoid that others steer customers away from there."

WTF i'm reading LOL 
Of course, I understand that corporate squabbles are often illogical, but no one cares because they allow you to get some amount of money from the counterparty, but what kind of perverted logic is this? Maybe I do not understand some underlying reason, but for me it looks like complete nonsense. Maybe someone is deeply familiar with this topic and can explain how such "reasoning/action" is justified?

When I was last on the appstore and searched for a game, I saw an ad for one that was completely different but I did end up installing both (and then removed the advertised game because I didn't like it - the two seemed to be the same genre but different subgenre of games but might have an audience overlap).

A lot of apple game ads were - a few years ago - taken over by gambling and light gambling games (just games that look like they'd be addictive to certain people and have lots of in app purchases). I wouldn't play either but they're probably the groups with the highest budget for ads.


Will banning gambling ads and apps hurt gambling companies? If people are sent into brick and mortar casinos or online casinos, they might end up betting more anyway. Gambling is particularly bad for addicts and young people (I'm not going to say it's good for anyone but if you find it entertaining and don't do it much, you probably don't need an ad to get you to do it still).

[pawanjain]

If Apple has decided to pause gambling ads in app store then probably it's for good.
Besides that, Apple is already such a big company, if it is losing a little portion of ad revenue it won't be a big thing for them anyway.
Their reputation is what matters to them at this stage I think.

[coupable]

If Apple has decided to pause gambling ads in app store then probably it's for good.
Besides that, Apple is already such a big company, if it is losing a little portion of ad revenue it won't be a big thing for them anyway.
Their reputation is what matters to them at this stage I think.

I don't think the reason behind this decision is to enhance its reputation with users. By imposing an urban ban on gambling advertisements, it will lose a large part of its resources, since the advertising market represents an important source of income for major companies working in the field of social applications. Which means that this will give the opportunity for its competitors to take a step at its expense.
Users generally hate that advertisements of any kind appear to them, but they do not care about those advertisements as long as they are not necessarily gambling players and that these advertisements do not contain pornographic materials that contradict public modesty. If Apple will work to satisfy its developers, most likely this will not be at the expense of its advertising revenue.

[KTChampions]

Beyond upsetting some developers, Apple allowing apps to run ads in other apps' listings has already led to the company facing accusations of anticompetitive behavior. In a tweet last week, legal expert Florian Mueller argued the ads are "another means of increasing the effective app tax rate, forcing developers to buy ads on their own app pages in order to avoid that others steer customers away from there."

WTF i'm reading LOL 
Of course, I understand that corporate squabbles are often illogical, but no one cares because they allow you to get some amount of money from the counterparty, but what kind of perverted logic is this? Maybe I do not understand some underlying reason, but for me it looks like complete nonsense. Maybe someone is deeply familiar with this topic and can explain how such "reasoning/action" is justified?

When I was last on the appstore and searched for a game, I saw an ad for one that was completely different but I did end up installing both (and then removed the advertised game because I didn't like it - the two seemed to be the same genre but different subgenre of games but might have an audience overlap).

A lot of apple game ads were - a few years ago - taken over by gambling and light gambling games (just games that look like they'd be addictive to certain people and have lots of in app purchases). I wouldn't play either but they're probably the groups with the highest budget for ads.

Do I understand correctly that developers resent the fact that users are given more choice and developers call this anti-competitive behavior?  I could understand the indignation of users who may not be happy with less accurate search results, but how do developers have the audacity to claim anti-competitive behavior? In fact, the fact that the user has a wide choice is the most competitive behavior.

[jackg]

Do I understand correctly that developers resent the fact that users are given more choice and developers call this anti-competitive behavior?  I could understand the indignation of users who may not be happy with less accurate search results, but how do developers have the audacity to claim anti-competitive behavior? In fact, the fact that the user has a wide choice is the most competitive behavior.

Perhaps there was a few apps/developers where their searches were most popular that ads were bought there enough to push their apps down far enough that the user would have to scroll. I don't actually think this is something that'd be done because selling one or two ad spaces for a keyword would be more efficient and more expensive than selling many more in my opinion but maybe apple felt differently about them. It'd be very anticompetitive if there were 8 ads above one app that someone was searching for but then I think that'd cause usability problems too, Apple would be better off auctioning popular ad spots like those to one app or have them on rotation so they got views but weren't destroying the appstore's basic functions.

I doubt anyone plays just one game though and doesn't branch out at some point (I could understand playing one game for a while but not for a long time.without getting bored of it and playing something else).

[OgNasty]

Not surprising to me at all.  I am a bit surprised that Apple was ever willing to display gambling ads.  When I was running a small little gambling site, Apple discontinued one of my unrelated apps from being listed in the app store within a period of about two weeks.  I think the gambling site had maybe 20 bets at that point, but Apple had already identified that I was running it and had an app in their app store (most likely some troll reported me and probably stretched the truth a bit to say they were somehow connected).  Anyway, I learned very quickly that Apple hates gambling and will overreact to complaints in order to appear to be regulating their users.

[livingfree]

They probably just don't like gambling to be at their top appearance and that's why they've removed it. It's not their priority given how many users they are and we don't know if they've got a statistics on it and how many are at the minor age.

A big company like Apple, they've got some really huge base of users and one casino advertisement will really have that click and good results for that advertiser. They know their worth and they may want to increase their ads revenue but not coming from the gambling industry.

[gantez]

Anyway, I learned very quickly that Apple hates gambling and will overreact to complaints in order to appear to be regulating their users.

From your story and looking at the full story from op, it can be apple don't want to encourage gambling on their app. I think that is why disconnecting those ads. They may not care much because it is well recognized organization and endorsement is coming from different angles.

[Fortify]

It appears apple developers are not fans of gambling?

If apple based platforms ban gambling advertisements.

Could apple gain a reputation for having an anti gambling stance in the future. Which might lead to a backlash where casinos boycott apple based products?

I don't remember statistics or revenue numbers being published in response to facebook and other platforms banning cryptocurrency advertisements. Or if there was an actual backlash in those cases where social media platforms lost a significant chunk of revenue as a result of bans.

The gambling industry is different from cryptocurrency advertisements. Gambling is a trillion dollar industry worldwide. It might be large enough for ad bans and lost revenue to affect apples bottom line. Perhaps I'm exaggerating the influence of the gambling industry.

There are many countries and apps out there which have absolutely zero connection with gambling, so quite rightly would be annoyed if this type of advert was shown within their app. It could even be damaging to have such associations taking place with their brand and they're unlikely to see a substantial uplift or direct benefit from hosting such ads, but you can bet Apple is charging premium rates to the people buying them. In many industries such connections are actually banned, so the owners might feel they could indirectly get in trouble with authorities or even running such ads that are exposing vulnerable audiences who might otherwise never seek such content out.

[Lanatsa]

They probably just don't like gambling to be at their top appearance and that's why they've removed it. It's not their priority given how many users they are and we don't know if they've got a statistics on it and how many are at the minor age.

A big company like Apple, they've got some really huge base of users and one casino advertisement will really have that click and good results for that advertiser. They know their worth and they may want to increase their ads revenue but not coming from the gambling industry.

If they had allowed it earlier then it does simply means that they are making money through it but since there are some complaints then this is where they do take or make some action.

Its true that they had gained up their reputation and popularity on different angles or means which they cant really afford on making some small issues for making it to be big and would completely
be that creating too much noise or something like that.
Its their company and its just right that they would really be doing things which would really be for the better good for the company.

[TimeTeller]

They probably just don't like gambling to be at their top appearance and that's why they've removed it. It's not their priority given how many users they are and we don't know if they've got a statistics on it and how many are at the minor age.

A big company like Apple, they've got some really huge base of users and one casino advertisement will really have that click and good results for that advertiser. They know their worth and they may want to increase their ads revenue but not coming from the gambling industry.

If they had allowed it earlier then it does simply means that they are making money through it but since there are some complaints then this is where they do take or make some action.

Its true that they had gained up their reputation and popularity on different angles or means which they cant really afford on making some small issues for making it to be big and would completely
be that creating too much noise or something like that.
Its their company and its just right that they would really be doing things which would really be for the better good for the company.

It is for the good image of the company and not for anything else, I believe.
It is only gambling ads that they pause, but they are still allowing gambling apps to be created under their platform.
As the users of their app ranges from youngsters to all levels of generation, they need to be careful on what's being seen first upon using their app.
Pausing or banning gambling ads won't dent of their earnings, but it will give a precaution to its users.

[dothebeats]

Aren't they paying all the same to get their ads in there anyway? Also, AFAIK you can report ads that you don't like to view and then it will eventually be lost in any of the ads you'll be receiving. Even if Apple cuts down on these gambling ads there wouldn't be much of a difference anyway in the end. Why aren't they looking at sexual ads that casually appear here and there?

I just report ads or skip those that I don't like anyway as a user, even if it's an in-app advertisement. Easy solution for me but perhaps to these devs it's worth a lot.

[STT]

Its most likely to be the legality variance across jurisdictions I presume, if nothing else Apple fears the lawyers.    In any case regardless people should always be able to choose adverts in some way I guess, thats lacking from some platforms across every sector.
  Gambling smoking, a few other things might be a premium area to advertising because its a kind of restricted activity.

[Lanatsa]

They probably just don't like gambling to be at their top appearance and that's why they've removed it. It's not their priority given how many users they are and we don't know if they've got a statistics on it and how many are at the minor age.

A big company like Apple, they've got some really huge base of users and one casino advertisement will really have that click and good results for that advertiser. They know their worth and they may want to increase their ads revenue but not coming from the gambling industry.

If they had allowed it earlier then it does simply means that they are making money through it but since there are some complaints then this is where they do take or make some action.

Its true that they had gained up their reputation and popularity on different angles or means which they cant really afford on making some small issues for making it to be big and would completely
be that creating too much noise or something like that.
Its their company and its just right that they would really be doing things which would really be for the better good for the company.

It is for the good image of the company and not for anything else, I believe.
It is only gambling ads that they pause, but they are still allowing gambling apps to be created under their platform.
As the users of their app ranges from youngsters to all levels of generation, they need to be careful on what's being seen first upon using their app.
Pausing or banning gambling ads won't dent of their earnings, but it will give a precaution to its users.

Yes, you are right on what you had said.It would be normal for a company on taking care of its image and reputation since they do know that possible issues attached on this might become big
and would really create some headache later on.
Its true that as a business then of course they would really be considering out on applying or integrating things in all age bracket to maximize possible revenue or profits.

If they do saw that there's some arguements or complaints or issues raised then it would be common sense for them to arrange and fix it out directly
and do make things for the the good.

[bittraffic]

This is apple wanting to make more money. This is going to encourage advertising to hurt others or competitors.

They are making the competition of developers which the rich developers can advertise on the competitor's page. This is really going to kill the apps that are inferior and low quality which I think is good also for developers will push to make better apps.

[noorman0]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting, I think ads are shown randomly, and nothing so far the company has filtered ads in a targeted way to at least block impressions on competitors' apps.
Apart from this, is it relevant enough to be accused of anticompetitive behavior, if gambling ads are served on podcast apps? They have different orientations.

A bit confusing