What does Apple require to approve a real-money gaming app?
Short answer: Apple's guidelines require real-money gaming and contest apps to be geo-restricted to jurisdictions where they are lawful, to be published by the licensed entity or an approved developer, and to be backed by documentation of legality on request.
App Review treats real-money gaming, sweepstakes, and contests as a restricted category. Practically, submissions turn on four things: the developer account is the entity that holds the license or the legal right to operate; the app is geo-restricted to the jurisdictions the operator claims; the app does not accept in-app purchase for gambling stakes in a way that conflicts with store payment rules; and the operator can produce a current legal analysis of where the product is lawful.
Google Play runs a parallel process with its own real-money gaming program and country and state allowlists.
The rejection pattern we see most often is not a legal defect — it is a mismatch between the states named in the legal opinion and the states the build actually restricts.
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Updated August 12, 2026. General information only—not legal advice for your specific situation. For advice on your facts, book a 15-minute case assessment.