Industry News

What App Developers Should Pay Attention to for the Second Half of 2021

Published

4 years ago

August 6, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Seven months into the year and the app industry has never been stronger – global app spending climbed nearly 25% to reach upward of $64.9 billion, and mobile habits picked up over the past year are set to stay.

In terms of performance, Gaming remains the undisputed leader in both consumer spend and downloads but among the non-gaming apps, a number of categories are enjoying their fair share in the spotlight.

While categories such as Business, Health, Social and Entertainment continue to enjoy the momentum generated last year, we are also beginning to see renewed interest in sectors like Travel and Navigation, Dating, and Productivity as vaccination rollouts in different countries pick up tractions.

However, the mobile landscape has always been as dynamic as they come – the dust has yet to settle on the pandemic front and consumer behaviour will shift with every passing month. So while the first half of the year had the industry by the edge of our seat for the habits and trends that will form part of the new industry normal, there are now clear signals of what is to come and developers looking to stay competitive will need to start acting on them.

Alternative is the name of the game

Mobile, and apps in particular, are now a cornerstone of consumers’ daily lives and businesses who do not have a presence on a platform will be the ones who will struggle the most, regardless of vertical. Furthermore, users are becoming increasingly discerning about the products and services they use, and are more likely to explore competitor apps to satisfy needs for services that best suit them. This means that developers need to look at participation in alternative platforms – such as various app marketplaces – is becoming critical for discoverability of smaller companies in particular. Bringing their brands to different app storefronts means high chances of building additional touch points with new and existing customers to their businesses.

In light of this, developers will need to identify tools and processes that can streamline their approach to the maintainability of their multi-platform presence. Between delivering their own app brand and participating in multiple app storefronts, the different processes add up to a maintenance headache. The more a developer can re-use their infrastructure and processes across multiple platforms to deliver a common feature-set, the easier they will be able to scale and the more resilient their business will become.

Connectivity set to take centre stage

The popularity and adoption of connected devices have surged over the years and consumers’ expectations are shifting in tandem with this trend. Mobile users are now looking towards a new level of seamless connectivity between their devices and favour apps that are compatible with their ecosystem of choice. This bias is particularly prevalent within the Health vertical where apps belonging to connected devices such as Peloton and Fitbit lead their competitors in terms of consumer spend.

The potential for developers integrated into an ecosystem is almost limitless – the compatibility means that the app is able to fully leverage the hardware capabilities to unlock more extensive features that their competitors would not have access to.

Furthermore, the rollout of 5G technology can further propel the popularity of apps integrated within the ecosystem through its vastly enhanced latency and bandwidth. These capabilities empower greater and better connectivity between devices and apps integrated with the ecosystem are able to contribute to a significantly smarter and more seamless environment. This advantage will then help these apps pull ahead of their competitors in the long run.

Navigating the future with symbiotic collaboration

Given the growing need to maintain presence across alternative channels, publishers need to look towards platforms that can offer them not only a quality and sizable user base, but also strategic growth opportunities. This means focusing on the big picture and prioritise setting up shop at alternative app marketplaces.

With the growing distrust between developers and traditional app distribution platforms, the industry should expect to see an increasing number of bigger gaming companies attempting to set up their own storefronts. However, these channels are likely to be equally problematic as there may be some trust and fairness implications due to the same entity being both the distributor and the developer. Therefore, developers should instead consider existing app distribution platforms such as Huawei’s AppGallery which can offer not only extensive technical and operational support, but also a well-established ecosystem and userbase of over 540 million active users globally.

AppGallery offers developers a wide suite of tools, capabilities, and resources, empowering them to achieve the best return on investment in the shortest period possible. To achieve this, the platform offers every developer a full spectrum of developer support from technical integration to overseas market expansion, facilitating exponential growth and app innovation.

Furthermore, developers onboarding the platform will gain access to the powerful HMS (Huawei Mobile Service) Core, a rich array of open device and cloud capabilities. It allows developers to introduce unique ground-breaking technology to their apps and integrate them into the all-encompassing HMS ecosystem at the same time.

Between the comprehensive level of developer support and unwavering commitment to partner success, AppGallery is the ideal platform for businesses looking to navigate the dynamic second half of 2021 and the future.

If you are interested in learning more about Huawei and its solution, visit the Huawei developer website here: https://developer.huawei.com/consumer/en/

EU gambling policy

Romania Proposes Raising Gambling Age to 21 and Restricting Online Advertising

Published

1 hour ago

November 5, 2025

Zoltan Tundik

romania-proposes-raising-gambling-age-to-21-and-restricting-online-advertising

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Romanian lawmakers have introduced new legislative proposals aimed at tightening gambling access and advertising rules, particularly to protect young people. The bills, submitted by MPs Raluca Turcan (PNL) and Diana Stoica (USR), would raise the minimum legal gambling age from 18 to 21 and restrict online gambling advertising between 06:00 and 24:00.

Under the proposals, individuals under the age of 21 would be prohibited from participating in gambling activities, while gambling ads would be banned across online platforms during daytime hours. The legislation also seeks to outlaw the use of influencers, athletes and public figures in gambling promotions.

Protecting young audiences

“We have an obligation to protect our children from the threat of gambling,” said USR deputy Diana Stoica, citing studies showing early exposure to slot machines and online betting among Romanian minors. According to Stoica, brain development, particularly in areas linked to impulse control and decision-making, continues until around the age of 21, making younger individuals more vulnerable to gambling addiction.

“One in four adolescents has played on these so-called ‘machines of death’ before turning 18,” she added, arguing that the legislation is a necessary step to reduce risks.

Aligning with European trends

PNL deputy Raluca Turcan called the proposed age increase a “simple change with deep effects,” noting that countries including Portugal, Greece and Moldova have adopted similar measures. She highlighted that individuals aged 18 to 21 often face increased financial pressure and impulsivity as they enter adulthood, making them a key target group for gambling marketing.

“By raising the age threshold, we protect young people during a vulnerable stage,” Turcan stated, referencing international examples where similar policies reportedly reduced early-age indebtedness and problem gambling cases.

Tighter ad rules and warning messages

The draft legislation further proposes:

A complete ban on online gambling advertising between 06:00 and 24:00
A ban on influencer and public-figure participation in gambling promotions
Mandatory visible harm-prevention warnings across digital and physical gambling environments, modeled after tobacco and alcohol regulation

The measures would amend Romania’s existing legal framework under Emergency Ordinance 77/2009.

What comes next

The bills will now proceed through the legislative process, including debate and committee review. If adopted, the changes would introduce some of the most restrictive gambling-advertising and access rules in the region.

The initiatives reflect an ongoing trend across Europe, where regulators are increasing focus on consumer protection, youth safeguards, and advertising limitations in the gambling sector.

The post Romania Proposes Raising Gambling Age to 21 and Restricting Online Advertising appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

AGCCS

AskGamblers Casino Complaint Service Returns Over $2.8M to Players in Q3 2025

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

Niji Narayan

askgamblers-casino-complaint-service-returns-over-$2.8m-to-players-in-q3-2025

Reading Time: < 1 minute

AskGamblers Casino Complaint Service (AGCCS) has a successful Q3 in 2025, helping players recover over $2.8 million and exceeding last year’s numbers.

The Q3 2025 numbers are out, showcasing the results achieved by the AskGamblers Casino Complaint Service. The report highlights the most important accomplishments between 1 July and 30 September.

In the previous quarter, the AGCCS team helped 2807 users get their funds from online casinos and sportsbooks, returning $2,813,351 in total. The team received exactly 3881 complaints that affected 960 operators and affiliates.

Things aren’t always running smoothly. Even if a complaint gets rejected, the users walk out satisfied with the service they’ve received. One of AskGamblers’ players ended up receiving the money from the casino, even though their complaint was rejected initially:

“I just wanted to let you know that the funds have been successfully returned to my account. Thank you a thousand times – I’m certain that without your help, this wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly.”

The AGCCS is actively working on sports betting complaints, too, returning $53,633 in Q3 to bettors all over the world. During this period, they’ve managed to break a record in the number of resolved complaints (1013).

Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “Props to our AGCCS for doing an awesome job, staying at the forefront and being there for players. It’s a joy to see our users happy, wishing to send tips and buy us lunch. Even though we have to reject that (unfortunately), this just shows the commitment of our team to our players, which will continue in the future.”

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Google

YouTube’s strengthened approach to online gambling and graphic violence in gaming

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2025

Niji Narayan

youtube’s-strengthened-approach-to-online-gambling-and-graphic-violence-in-gaming

Reading Time: 2 minutes

YouTube has announced that it will strengthen enforcement of its community guidelines on violent gaming and online gambling content, starting on 17 November.

“Starting on November 17th, 2025, we’ll be strengthening enforcement of our Community Guidelines around online gambling and graphic violence in gaming.

“Our policies are designed to evolve alongside the digital world. We’re making these updates to keep pace with new trends, like gambling with digital goods, and to more closely align our guidelines for mature content with industry standards.

Here’s a Summary of What’s Changing:

Online Gambling Content

“Our current policy prohibits content that directs viewers to online gambling sites or applications that are not certified by Google. We’re expanding our enforcement to now cover online gambling with additional items that have monetary value, including digital goods (e.g. video game skins, cosmetics and NFTs).”

Social Casino Content

“We’re updating our approach to casino-style games where nothing of real-world monetary value is wagered or cashed out. Content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates social casino sites will now be age-restricted.”

Graphic Gaming Content

“In addition to our existing guidelines around graphic gaming content, we will age-restrict an additional small subset of video game content featuring realistic human characters that focuses on scenes of torture or scenes of mass violence against non-combatants. We’ll consider several factors when reviewing this type of content such as:

• Duration – If the graphic scene is sustained (rather than fleeting). For compilation videos, we’ll now consider the cumulative duration of all of the graphic clips combined.

• Prominence – If the violent imagery is zoomed-in or the main focus of the scene

• Realistic human characters – If the violence is happening to a character that looks like a real human.”

“We expect most channels will experience little to no impact but we know this is a lot of information, and we want to ensure you have time to adapt.

Existing videos. Content uploaded before November 17, 2025, that violates these guidelines may be removed or age-restricted, but will not result in a strike. Remember, age-restricted videos can stay on your channel for 18+ audiences.”

“Making edits: For creators who have content that’s in-scope of these updates, you may be able to edit your video description or use our video editor trim or blur tools to make any necessary changes before November 17, 2025.

Notifications: If we age-restrict or remove your content, we’ll notify you by email. If you disagree with the decision, you can always choose to appeal.”

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