APKGuide24: casino apps and APK for Android and iOS

A casino app comes in four forms: as an Android file (APK) straight from the operator, as an app from the Apple App Store, as a web app that the browser places on the home screen, or simply as a mobile website with nothing to install. Which form an operator chooses depends largely on the rules of the two stores, as Google Play makes no provision for casino apps in Germany.

Of the four operators in this data comparison – 22Bet, Irwin, Frumzi and 5Gringos – two provide their own Android app, while two rely on the mobile browser. All figures in the comparison are as of October 2026.

What a casino app is: APK, store app, web app, browser

Behind the term “casino app” there are four technically different things. An APK is the installation package for Android, which can also be distributed outside Google Play. A store app comes from Google Play or the Apple App Store and passes the store operator’s check before release. A web app (PWA) is a website with a manifest file: the field display: standalone makes it open like a standalone app without an address bar. Finally, the mobile website runs in the browser without any file landing on the device.

How to set up a web app (PWA) in the browser and where it reaches its limits compared with a native app depends on the operating system: Android and iPhone differ in menus, notifications and the route to the home screen.

Why there are hardly any casino apps in the Play Store

Google Play prohibits real-money gambling apps in principle. Exceptions exist only after an application process with Google and with a valid gambling licence for every country in which the app is to appear. Germany is on Google’s country list, but as permitted products Google names only sports betting, horse racing and lotteries run by state operators or providers commissioned by the state. Online casino games and slots are missing – unlike Ghana or Greece, for example, where “online casino games” are explicitly listed.

On top of that, every approved app has to meet conditions: it is free, does not use Google Play billing, technically excludes minors and carries the AO (Adult Only) rating. Apps without gambling approval may not even contain a menu item, a tab or a WebView with a call to real-money play. Anyone in Germany searching for a casino app and finding nothing is therefore running into these rules, not into a store error. Why a casino app is not in the Play Store, and how Apple handles the same question, is covered separately.

Forums show the same picture: an app is listed as “not available” in the store or is hidden in the user’s own country. With approved gambling apps, the reason is the country block that Google requires for all countries in which the developer holds no licence.

Android: APK instead of the Play Store

Because the Play Store is not an option for casino apps in Germany, operators distribute their Android version as an APK via their own website. Android explicitly provides for this route: developers may host APK files on their own server, and users agree beforehand to the installation of unknown apps. From Android 8.0 onwards this is done per source, for example for the browser or the file manager, on the system screen “Install unknown apps”. Up to Android 7.1.1 there is instead a global “Unknown sources” switch under Settings > Security. Some mobile carriers do not allow the option at all.

Origin of the file, version status and system requirements differ from operator to operator, and not every value is published. What matters for downloads, versions and system requirements is collected on the page about the casino app for Android with all documented values.

iPhone: App Store or web app

An APK cannot be installed on an iPhone – one of the most frequent forum questions on the subject. Apple only admits real-money apps for casino games, poker, sports betting and horse racing to the App Store if they hold the necessary licences in every location where they are used, are geo-restricted to those locations and are offered free of charge. Such apps must be submitted by the legal entity that runs the service, not by an individual developer. Since the EU rules for alternative app marketplaces, iPhone users whose Apple account region is in the EU and who are staying in the EU can also load apps from marketplaces or directly from developer websites; however, Apple only checks these apps for integrity and malware, while the content check lies with the marketplace.

For 22Bet and Irwin the sources disagree. According to goal.com (Indian edition), the 22Bet app is in the Apple App Store, and according to AskGamblers Irwin also has an app in the App Store. A query of the German App Store search via the iTunes Search API on 08.10.2026, however, returned no hit for either name. The same search found nothing for Frumzi and 5Gringos either; both run in the browser on iOS. The options, from the App Store to the icon on the home screen, are shown step by step on the page about the casino app for iPhone.

The route without a store goes through Safari: Share, choose “Add to Home Screen”, confirm. If “Open as Web App” is switched on, the site then starts like an app and can send notifications. The icon exists only on the device on which it was created. Apple does not use the term PWA publicly but has supported the technology in Safari since 2018.

The 4 operators compared by data

22Bet is the only one of the four operators whose Android app is explicitly described as an APK: according to goal.com (Indian edition), it is not in the Google Play Store but only on the official 22bet website, and it offers push notifications that the mobile website does not have. A version number is not documented, nor is a web app. One user writes about the app: “Sie ist viel praktischer als die mobile Website” (it is much more practical than the mobile website). The operator is TechSolutions Group N.V.; licence information diverges: casino.guru names Curaçao (OGL/2024/590/0758), Kahnawake and Estonia, AskGamblers Curaçao, Kahnawake, Nigeria, Mozambique and Kenya. Download route, system requirements and the open App Store question are gathered in one place on the page about the 22Bet app.

Irwin has mobile apps for iOS and Android according to AskGamblers, while lcb.org records “App Available: Yes” without naming a platform. As the download source, the casino names the download icons at the bottom of its homepage in a reply on AskGamblers; no source says whether this is an APK. Size, version, system requirements and push function are not documented. One user states that “the website works smoothly both on desktop and mobile” – so besides the app, the browser remains an access route. The operator is GALAKTIKA N.V. with a licence from the Curaçao Gaming Authority. All details are summarised on the page about the Irwin Casino app.

Frumzi has neither a native app nor an APK; lcb.org records “App Available: No”, and AskGamblers speaks of access “without the need of downloading an app”. The operator has a web app manifest with display: standalone in place on its own website, and the start address carries the tag “utm_medium=pwa”; installation instructions for it have not been published. One player describes the games on mobile as running “a little shaky”, even after clearing the cache. Licence information diverges: casino.guru names Anjouan (ALSI-202411077-FI2), AskGamblers Anjouan and PAGCOR, lcb.org no licence; the operator’s configuration code points to Anjouan. What works in the browser and as a web app is shown on the page about the Frumzi app with all sources.

5Gringos also does without an app. “No app is required”, says AskGamblers; access runs through a compatible mobile browser on iOS and Android, supplemented by a similar web app manifest. Player voices on the mobile version sound positive: “Mobile Spiele laufen gut und laden schnell” (mobile games run well and load quickly), and the live games “funktionieren super auf meinem Handy” (work great on my phone). Licence: Anjouan and Tobique according to casino.guru, Anjouan and PAGCOR according to the English edition of AskGamblers, only PAGCOR according to the German one. How access looks on both systems is described on the page about the 5Gringos Casino app.

None of the four operators is listed on the whitelist of the German Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL); a full-text search for brand and operator names returned zero hits in each case. The whitelist contains no information about apps in any case.

Installation in three steps

With an APK from the operator’s website, the process on Android is always the same; only the menu labels differ depending on manufacturer and Android version. With a web app there is no download at all. Error messages such as “App not installed”, package conflicts and greyed-out switches are covered in the guide on how to install a casino app and how to classify typical errors.

1. IStep 1

   Download: get the APK only via the link on the casino’s official website, not from third-party APK portals.

2. IIStep 2

   Allow: permit the installation of unknown apps for the browser or file manager, per source or via the global switch depending on the Android version.

3. IIIStep 3

   Install: tap the file, confirm the installation and switch the permission for unknown apps off again afterwards.

If the switch for unknown apps stays grey, a parental control such as Family Link is often behind it.

Safety when downloading an APK

The most common worry in forums concerns viruses and trojans in APK files. Google itself recommends downloads via Google Play and warns that apps from unknown sources can endanger the device and personal data, up to data loss and theft. Anyone who installs an APK anyway has a second checker: Google Play Protect is active by default, scans apps during installation – including those from other sources – and flags, disables or removes potentially harmful applications. For apps that have never been scanned, Play Protect can suggest a code scan. Google advises keeping Play Protect switched on at all times.

Modified versions may circulate on mirror portals. If the app asks for access to accessibility services or other sensitive settings on launch, that is a warning sign: Android restricts such settings for apps from other sources and only releases them via “Allow restricted settings” in the app info – Google advises against this unless you trust the developer.

When an app from another source is installed, the device may send data such as the app URL, device ID, Android version and IP address to Google. Google has announced for 2027 that apps on certified devices worldwide must come from verified developers; in the first phase since 30.09.2026 this applies only to Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and Germany is not yet included.

Deposits and withdrawals in the app

Whether a casino app can transfer money is decided by the customer account: app, web app and mobile website all access the same casino cashier. Like Google, Apple excludes its own payment route and prohibits in-app purchases for credit in real-money apps. Deposits therefore run through the casino’s payment methods, at Irwin, according to lcb.org, for example card or crypto, and not through the Google or Apple account.

The minimum amounts differ considerably. According to lcb.org, deposits at 22Bet start at €1 and withdrawals at €1.50. At Frumzi, according to lcb.org, both are €10, with Bitcoin €30 for deposits and €60 for withdrawals. Irwin, according to lcb.org, accepts from €5 in crypto and from €10 with the other methods, and pays out from €10 in crypto and from €20 to cards. For 5Gringos no general minimum is documented, only €20 as the minimum deposit for the bonus according to AskGamblers.

For maximum amounts, AskGamblers names €500 per transaction and per day plus €10,000 per month for 5Gringos, and €500 per day and €7,000 per month for Frumzi; lcb.org gives €7,000 to €20,000 per month for Frumzi depending on VIP level. Irwin pays out up to €125,000 per month, with the daily figure starting at €4,000 and rising with the VIP level. Separate limits for the app alone are not documented for any operator. Methods, processing times and special cases for all four operators are collected on the page about deposits and withdrawals in the app.

At 22Bet, user voices mention two problems: in a complaint on AskGamblers, a deposit taken from the bank does not even show up as “processing” in the app, and in a comment on lcb.org the upload of verification documents failed twice.

Real money or play money

Many apps on Google Play and in the App Store look like a casino but work with play money. The licensing requirement of Google and Apple applies to apps with real-money stakes, that is casino games, poker, sports betting and lotteries where money is deposited and withdrawn. Anyone in Germany who finds a casino app on Google Play is therefore almost always dealing with play money.

The four operators in this comparison, by contrast, are about real money, whether in the 22Bet APK, the Irwin app or in the browser at Frumzi and 5Gringos. The difference between the two worlds, from account balance to withdrawal, is explained in detail on the page about the real-money casino app.

For approved gambling apps, Google Play requires a clearly visible pointer to support services with local contact details in both the store description and the app; for Germany, Google names the Fachverband Glücksspielsucht as an example.

Updates and storage requirements

An APK does not update itself via the Play Store. New versions again come as a file from the operator’s website and are installed over the old one. This only works if the new file is signed with the same key and has the same package name; otherwise Android reports “App not installed”, and forums then speak of a package conflict. The usual solution is to uninstall the old version and install the new one; the customer account itself stays with the casino.

Web app and mobile website need no updates on the device: whatever the operator changes on the server is there the next time it is opened, and only the browser cache takes up space. Among the native apps, storage requirements are documented only for 22Bet. The APK is 55.36 MB according to goal.com and 53.19 MB according to uptodown; goal.com also names an “App Size” of 156 MB without specifying the platform. As the minimum requirement goal.com names Android 6.0, uptodown Android 7.0; in addition, according to goal.com, iOS 12.0 and 1.2 GHz.