BUSINESS
Tamil Nadu cabinet passes ordinance to ban online games with stakes
Tamil Nadu government had earlier filed a petition challenging the Madras High Court's judgement that had struck down the state's ban on online gambling in August 2021.
BUSINESS
Corporate Crossings | WhatsApp Pay India head Manesh Mahatme quits, likely to join Amazon
Mahatme's resignation comes at a time when WhatsApp’s mobile payments business has failed to take off in a significant fashion in India
STARTUP
Nandan Nilekani's Fundamentum Partnership leads $21.8 million funding in Kuku FM
Kuku FM currently has a base of more than 1.6 million active paid subscribers and aims to achieve over 10 million paid subscribers by the end of 2023.
BUSINESS
YouTube's Short Video Bet: Revenue sharing, music licensing, partner programme expansion
YouTube has rolled out major changes to its partner programme to help short-form video creators make more money.
BUSINESS
Meta makes it easier to directly share Reels from third-party apps
Meta's new Facebook Reels API allow creators and brands to directly share Reels on their own Facebook pages from third-party apps using the “Share to Reels” feature
STARTUP
WinZO takes Google to court over Google Play's fantasy and rummy apps pilot
Google had recently announced that it would begin a one-year pilot to offer daily fantasy sports and rummy apps to users in India by developers incorporated within the country
BUSINESS
Online gambling law | Supreme Court issues notice to gaming firms on Karnataka's plea against HC judgment
The Karnataka government moved the Supreme Court in March 2022, challenging the high court order that struck down its ban on all forms of online gaming where the transfer of money is involved
BUSINESS
Instagram extends its parental supervision tools to India
The Meta-owned platform is also rolling out Family Center, a new hub for parents and guardians to access supervision tools and resources from leading experts.
BUSINESS
Online gambling law: Supreme Court issues notice on TN govt plea challenging Madras HC judgement
The Tamil Nadu government had moved to the Supreme Court in December 2021 seeking a restoration of the ban on online games with stakes in the state.
BUSINESS
Google Play's pilot for fantasy and rummy apps gets mixed response from startup founders. Here's why
The move comes as a shot in the arm for these Indian apps as it will help them to smoothly reach a broader audience. However, it has caused a lot of heartburn among founders of skill-based gaming apps excluded from the pilot, who fear it will help entrenched players, discourage innovation and cause market distortion.
BUSINESS
Twitter starts testing WhatsApp share icon on tweets for Android users in India
Twitter is also making it easier for everyone using its iOS and Android apps to send tweets to social platforms such as LinkedIn, Snapchat and Instagram
BUSINESS
Google Play to pilot allowing daily fantasy sports and rummy apps in India
The distribution of these apps in the year-long pilot programme will be limited to India at present
STARTUP
Exclusive | MPL backs a Web3 venture started by two employees
Striker allows users to collect and trade digital player cards on the marketplace. It also enables them to create teams from these cards and participate in fantasy contests.
BUSINESS
Google extends third-party in-app billing pilot to India, four more markets
All non-gaming developers can offer an additional billing option to their mobile and tablet users on Google Play in India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Economic Area.
BUSINESS
Finally, Twitter starts testing much-in-demand edit button
Twitter users will be able to edit tweets a few times for 30 minutes after they have been posted on the platform
BUSINESS
Twitter rolls out its close friends feature 'Circle' globally
Twitter Circle will allow users to share tweets with a smaller group of up to 150 people, including people they don't follow.
BUSINESS
Meta introduces 'No-Cost EMI' for advertisers in India
Meta is also expanding the scope of its Small Business Loans initiative to over 19,000 pin codes across India
BUSINESS
Nazara Technologies buys US gamification platform WildWorks for $10.4 million
WildWorks is a game development studio focused on gamified early learning for 8-12-year-olds.
BUSINESS
RIL AGM 2022 | Jio Platforms partners with Meta to roll out in-app shopping on WhatsApp
RIL AGM 2022| JioMart will enable WhatsApp users in India to browse through its entire grocery catalog, add items to cart, and make the payment
BUSINESS
RIL AGM: Reliance working with Google to develop 'ultra-affordable' 5G smartphones: Mukesh Ambani
RIL AGM: Jio 5G to be launched across major cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, by Diwali
BUSINESS
Zynga debuts two India-made games depicting the country's Independence journey
The mobile games were developed by Zynga's India studio based in Bengaluru.
BUSINESS
Servify raises $65 million funding; to launch IPO in 18-24 months
Servify, which powers the after-sales experience for a range of device manufacturers, plans to use the funds to expand product offerings, grow business in international markets and scout for acquisition opportunities
BUSINESS
Disney ropes in Google veteran Sajith Sivanandan to lead Disney+ Hotstar
Sivanandan, who begun his career with Star TV in India in 1996, will oversee Disney+ Hotstar's overall business operations in the country and also chart a product roadmap for the service's growth in the coming years
TRENDS
Google Play spots key monetization opportunity in India as spends on local apps rise 80% in two years
India is moving from a pure app consumption economy to an app development economy and is set to become a leading hub of global app innovation, a senior Google India executive says.
