Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS platforms control about 90% of the mobile market. Both have strict rules on what they allow to be sold through their app stores, Google Play and iTunes, respectively. Gambling apps already tend to have tighter restrictions than your typical app and were hit with a blow by Google last week when the Google Play store updated their policies and decided to no longer offer applications that include real money gambling.

In a memo to Android App developers, Google said they will discontinue providing apps with “content or services that facilitate online gambling, including but not limited to, online casinos, sports betting and lotteries, or games of skill,” in the Google Play Store as long as these programs offer cash income or other value through gameplay. Google isn’t attacking gambling apps. The new Google Play policy changes are targeting spam, hate speech and focusing on making all in-app purchases go through Google’s in-app billing service. Apple and Facebook already have similar policies.

The Next Web clarifies that the policy change isn’t as much about getting rid of gambling apps as it is cleaning up Android devices:

In short, Google is further cracking down on apps and ads that ruin the Android experience. 30 days isn’t very long, but the threat of having your content removed from Google Play may be enough to get many developers to clean up their acts.

Developers now have a month’s time to remove apps that don’t adhere to the new policies or they will be banned. One major difference between Apple and Google is that Android is an open source platform so you can download Android Apps even if they’re not in the Google Play store. If you own an Android device, you will still have to go to Cantor Gaming, Station Casinos or William Hill websites to download their app.

None of the mobile sports betting apps are available in the Google Play store right now so nothing really changes for today’s market. In the long term, these policies will make it difficult for legitimate businesses to reach all mobile users and not just hardcore fans who will seek out the apps wherever they are. This lack of mainstream accessibility will hurt any potential for mobile gaming to grow exponentially.