What you need to know
- Apple is changing the way gambling and contest apps will be rated by developers on the iOS App Store.
- An update to App Store Connect lets developers choose between the two, rating their apps accordingly.
Apple has made changes to App Store connect that will let users choose to rate their apps as containing either gambling or contests, where previously these were only one option.
In a developer update yesterday Apple stated:
To help you describe your app's content more precisely, the age rating settings in App Store Connect have been refined. The Gambling and Contests setting is now split into two settings, allowing you to indicate these content types separately. They're also indicated separately on the App Store.If your answer to the Gambling and Contests setting was Yes, the update automatically reflects that your app includes instances of Gambling. Contests will be marked as Frequent/Intense. If your answer was No, the update automatically reflects that your app does not include instances of Gambling or Contests.In addition, you can access age rating settings directly from the App Information section in App Store Connect. Apps that offer Universal Purchase display the same age rating on the App Store across all platforms. You can make changes to your age rating settings when submitting a new version of your app and your app's availability in certain regions will be updated based on local laws.
Developers have to give their apps an age rating based on an app's content, for example, if it was a game that included depictions of violence, just like a movie or a TV show. Gambling and contests were already marked as separately for App Store customers, so this change won't impact what users see when they download apps.
