The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has directed an investigation into Google following a complaint from the gaming company Winzo. The complaint accuses Google of engaging in anti-competitive practices and abusing its dominant market position to harm and discriminate against gaming companies.
According to a CNBC-TV18 report, the DG (director general) of CCI will be submitting its findings within 60 days.
“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,” said Saumya Singh Rathore, co-founder WinZO.
Rathore alleged that a single player controls 95% of the fantasy gaming market, while three players dominate 90% of the rummy market. She argued that the policy significantly reduced marketing and customer acquisition costs for these selected games to just a quarter of previous expenses, disproportionately boosting their profit margins compared to others.
This is not Winzo’s first case against the tech giant. In September 2022, the Delhi-based company filed a lawsuit against Google to prevent it from permitting real-money games for fantasy sports and rummy on its platform.
Founded in 2018, Winzo offers a diverse portfolio of over 100 games across categories such as strategy, sports, casual, card, arcade, racing, action, and board games. The company’s primary revenue streams come from service fees on funds used in real-money games and the sale of digital or in-app vouchers.
While Winzo has yet to file its annual report for FY24, its revenue from operations soared to Rs 674 crore in FY23 from Rs 234 crore in FY22. The company also recorded its first-ever profit of Rs 126 crore in FY23.
Recently, Winzo partnered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to strengthen India’s gaming market, supporting over 2,000 startups, innovators, and students through mentorship, workshops, and hackathons.