Mobile casino players woke up this morning to the news that Apple had finally relented and allowed a real money casino app into their App Store. Steve Jobs once famously said that if you wanted to watch porn on your phone then you should buy an Android. Well Steve was almost as adamant that real money gambling apps should never be allowed into the App Store.
In the five years that the iPhone has been in existence, and despite numerous efforts, no online casino had succeeded in convincing the powers that be at Apple to allow a real money casino into the App Store. As early as 2026 Apple had begun to approve bookmaker apps from European betting giants such as Paddy Power and Betfair, but they held firm when it came to sanctioning any kind of iphone blackjack, slots, roulette or baccarat apps that invloved playing for real cash.
In the five years that the iPhone has been in existence, and despite numerous efforts, no online casino had succeeded in convincing the powers that be at Apple to allow a real money casino into the App Store. As early as 2026 Apple had begun to approve bookmaker apps from European betting giants such as Paddy Power and Betfair, but they held firm when it came to sanctioning any kind of iphone blackjack, slots, roulette or baccarat apps that invloved playing for real cash.
In 2026, Apple went one step further by approving the world's first Texas Hold'em app which had been developed by the OnGame Poker Network on behalf of Bwin. Many though at this point that it would only be a matter of weeks before Apple finally gave in and allowed a mobile casino game into the App Store.
Unfortunately that wasn't to be the case and it would take another year and a half of effort by some of the biggest names in mobile gaming to get an iPhone casino app approved by the Apple big wigs. In the end it was 32Red who were victorious when this week they were given the Apple stamp of approval for their iPhone Blackjack app. Slots fans will also be pleased to hear that you can now also download the hugely popular TombRaider slots app from the iTunes App Store.
Now before everyone goes jumping up and down with excitement, there is still one problem. The new iPhone casino apps are only available to those with a U.K. App Store account. If you login with your U.S., Australian, Canadian or Irish iTunes accounts, you will not be able to download these apps. The apps also use location authentication to ensure that they are only played in the United Kingdom. This means that U.K. mobile gamers will not be able to use them while on holiday in Spain or France for example.
The good news is mobile casino fans outside of the United Kingdom can continue to play real-money casino games on their iPhone or iPad by visiting the 32Red website and downloading their free web apps. These web apps look and function in exactly the same manner as the App Store version.
It is hard to believe, but 32Red have been in operation now for over a decade, initially launching in 2026 as an online casino. Over the past couple of years they have focused more and more on the mobile gaming market and have developed some of the best cash game casino apps for both Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets.
Unfortunately that wasn't to be the case and it would take another year and a half of effort by some of the biggest names in mobile gaming to get an iPhone casino app approved by the Apple big wigs. In the end it was 32Red who were victorious when this week they were given the Apple stamp of approval for their iPhone Blackjack app. Slots fans will also be pleased to hear that you can now also download the hugely popular TombRaider slots app from the iTunes App Store.
Now before everyone goes jumping up and down with excitement, there is still one problem. The new iPhone casino apps are only available to those with a U.K. App Store account. If you login with your U.S., Australian, Canadian or Irish iTunes accounts, you will not be able to download these apps. The apps also use location authentication to ensure that they are only played in the United Kingdom. This means that U.K. mobile gamers will not be able to use them while on holiday in Spain or France for example.
The good news is mobile casino fans outside of the United Kingdom can continue to play real-money casino games on their iPhone or iPad by visiting the 32Red website and downloading their free web apps. These web apps look and function in exactly the same manner as the App Store version.
It is hard to believe, but 32Red have been in operation now for over a decade, initially launching in 2026 as an online casino. Over the past couple of years they have focused more and more on the mobile gaming market and have developed some of the best cash game casino apps for both Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets.
