Winzo has sought orders restraining competitors from infringing its rights in the trademarks and Google commercially exploiting to drive its organic traffic on Google search engine, a product in monopoly, to its competing products of Rummy & Fantasy that were recently included on Google Play Store by its recent Playstore Policy changes, it said.
When a user searches for Winzo on Google’s search engine, the search result displays its competitors’ applications via Google App Campaign. “Winzo experienced that when its users were searching for our trademark organically, they were instead suggested to use alternative competitive apps on Google Play Store. They also suspended all ads on Google search for any app which is not fantasy or rummy, resulting in Winzo losing a significant chunk of users who were specifically looking to download the Winzo app,” said Winzo Games co-founder Saumya Singh Rathore.
“In September 2022, Google announced an arbitrary policy to allow only rummy and fantasy gaming apps on the Google Play Store and exclude all other Skill Gaming Platforms out of the pilot. This exclusion was not only limited to the Play Store but extended to the world of internet by restricting AdWords for any product outside Rummy & Fantasy. It also gave access to the Universal App Campaigns (UAC) to rummy and fantasy apps,” she said.
This follows a lawsuit filed by Winzo Games earlier this week seeking to be listed on the Google Play Store as a game of skill. In its plea before the high court, the gaming intermediary has said that as the games offered by it are games of skill and therefore, in compliance with India’s laws on online gaming, they should be allowed to be listed on the Play Store.
The Delhi High Court, while hearing the plea moved by Winzo, asked the company’s counsel to take instructions afresh as the Centre had released new rules for online gaming intermediaries.
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