Trampoline Tales founder Dan Dilorio revealed the studio's most recent game, Luck Be a Landlord, has been banned across 13 countries on the Google Play Store. In his blog, Dilorio admitted to feeling "very aggravated" by those bans, which include the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Tunisia.
He explained that Google has found that his game "contains content that doesn't comply with the gambling policy." It's further claimed that apps which "simulate gambling, or games of chance or skill that are conducive to gambling are prohibited in the above locales."
Games with online gambling have to meet specific eligibility requirements to stay on the Google Play Store, and Dilorio "100 percent disagrees" with the company's findings for Landlord. The game's core mechanic revolves around using slot machines to earn rent money, though it's stressed the game itself has no real-world gambling.
Google Play's gambling policy
"Luck Be a Landlord does not violate any gambling policy that Google has in their terms of service," he wrote. He also pointed out that neither Jetpack Joyride or Spincraft: Classic (which he called a "literal clone" of his work) are geo-blocked, even while having mechanics that are similar or even more gambling-like than his game.
Dilorio believes that his game has getting "unfair treatment," alleging that Google was "dismissive of my reasoning, refusing to do anything." He added that he's currently exploring options to get the game re-released in those specific countries.
Until then, he advised that players purchase the game on either Steam or iOS, where they presently reside without any issue.