Winzo's antritrust complaint against Google prompts CCI to order probe

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a detailed investigation into Google following a complaint lodged by online gaming company Winzo Games Private Limited. The complaint alleges that Google has engaged in anti-competitive practices and misused its dominant market position to disadvantage and discriminate against gaming companies.

The Commission has directed the Director General to complete the investigation within 60 days and submit a consolidated report.

The allegations against Google include market access denial, favour of certain games, advertising restrictions, misleading warnings during app downloads. The decision by CCI to launch a probe throws light on the rising scrutiny of major tech companies and their market practices, especially in the online gaming sector, a Moneycontrol report stated.

In its order, the CCI highlighted concerns raised by Winzo regarding Google's policies that restrict the listing of real money gaming (RMG) applications on the Google Play Store. Winzo claims that Google's Developer Distribution Agreement and Developer Program Policies impose unreasonable conditions that limit access to gaming apps, particularly those offering skill-based games.

WinZO was started by Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nada in 2018. WinZO's co-founder Rathore stated, “The CCI's order is a step toward restoring fairness in the digital ecosystem. Monopolistic practices stifle innovation and hinder competition, which are the lifeblood of any thriving industry. This decision is a significant move to ensure equitable opportunities for all players, fostering innovation and creating a level playing field that benefits both businesses and consumers. The Google Playstore policy to include only Fantasy & Rummy, and Ads Policy to allow only Fantasy & Rummy businesses to advertise on internet, effectively distorts the market as the pilot was live for only two selected categories, driven by monopolistic practices."

She further added, "For example, 95% of the fantasy market is owned by a single player, and 90% of the rummy market is owned by three players. The policy caused the marketing and customer acquisition costs for the selected games to drop to a quarter of the previous spends, disproportionately benefiting the margins of these businesses over others. This had a far-reaching impact when the GST was hiked by 400%. The format included in the policy, ie Fantasy & Rummy could absorb the higher GST regime due to improved margins with this distortion, unlike many other players who did not benefit from this policy further distorting the market dynamics and ability to compete in a fair market."