Updating a casino app: APK update without losing data

A casino app that reached your smartphone as an APK file outside Google Play does not fetch new versions from a store on its own. In a German forum thread on how to update an APK, the shortest answer reads: “Install the APK of the new version.” That holds as long as the new file matches the app already on the device. How download, permission and first installation work is shown in the step-by-step guide on how to install a casino app; this part covers everything that comes after the first installation.

Among the four casinos covered here, an APK update only concerns 22Bet and Irwin, which offer an Android app for download. Frumzi and 5Gringos have no native app; play runs in the browser. None of the four operators states a version number: there is no information on the current version, nor on whether and through which channel an operator announces a new update.

How an APK update works

Technically, an APK update is an installation over the app that is already there. You download the file of the new version and open it; the Android package installer recognises from the package name that the app is already on the device and replaces the old build with the new one. No second app is created, and uninstalling is not part of this process. Uninstalling is the step in which Android removes app-specific files, according to the developer documentation.

For apps from Google Play, the store does this work for you: according to Google’s help pages, they are updated automatically when updates are available, over Wi-Fi or mobile data depending on your settings. Whether Google Play also updates APKs installed outside the store is not stated there. In forums, users describe bringing such apps up to date themselves with the new file. There is no information on whether the 22Bet and Irwin apps update themselves or announce an update; without such a notice, the route is the new file from the operator’s source.

Signature and package name must stay the same

Android requires every APK to be digitally signed, both before installation and before every update. During an update, the system compares the certificates of the new file and the installed version and allows the update only if they match. A forum user sums up the rule in one sentence: “The signature must be identical for the update.” Android therefore does not accept a file with a different certificate as an update of the installed app.

If the comparison fails, the installer reports a conflict. According to the Android developer documentation, this status means a conflict with a package already installed, for example due to incompatible certificates. In German forums it appears as the message “The app was not installed because the package conflicts with an existing package”; one user writes that this kept him from installing an APK for two months. Replies there name a different signature as the cause, often with modified files from third-party sources.

For 22Bet this means the update file has to come from the same place as the installed app. 22Bet names only its official website as the source of the APK. Uptodown lists the package as org.bet22.client with 39 permissions. File size and minimum version differ between sources: 55.36 MB and Android 6.0 according to goal.com, 53.19 MB and Android 7.0 according to Uptodown. No version number is available. More details on the file are collected on the page about the 22Bet APK for Android with both sets of figures.

No going back: older version code

Besides its visible version label, every Android app carries an internal number, the versionCode. According to the developer documentation, Android uses it to protect against downgrades: an APK with a lower versionCode than the installed version cannot be installed. In German forums this shows up as a message that the package has an older version code, typically when someone wants to return to the previous build after an update.

Two practical consequences follow for every update. A downloaded file is not automatically newer than the app on the device; if it is older, the installation stops. And going back to an earlier version is not intended through normal installation over the existing app. A third forum message says the package is corrupted; one user reports getting it for three hours with every version he tried.

Storage and permission for the update

One user describes his manual update via APK like this: when installing, he got the error message “App not installed”. The first question back in the forum was: “Is there enough storage space?” According to the Android developer documentation, the installer has its own status for this: the device is running low on space, or external storage is unavailable. Freeing up space can solve the problem. None of the operators states how much free space an update needs. Other causes of the same message are explained on the page about the error “App not installed” with all variants from forums.

The second hurdle is permission for the source. Android blocks installations from outside Google Play until the user allows the installation of unknown apps, and every new version is such an installation again. From Android 8.0 (API level 26), the permission applies per source on the “Install unknown apps” screen, meaning the browser or file manager you open the file with. If you revoked the permission after the first installation, or you open the update from a different app this time, a new permission is needed. How to allow unknown sources for the right app is shown in the dedicated guide.

During installation, Google Play Protect also checks the app, even if it does not come from Google Play. The service warns about, disables or removes potentially harmful apps, and for apps from other sources that were never scanned it may recommend a code scan.

Deleting the old version: what gets lost

A frequent piece of forum advice reads: “Sometimes you may have to delete the old version first.” In case of a certificate conflict, the Android documentation also names uninstalling the other app as a possible fix. The price: when an app is uninstalled, Android removes its app-specific files. The app’s app-specific files are gone afterwards.

Whether your account with the operator is affected is not documented for any of the four casinos; nor is whether access details or settings have to be entered again after a reinstall. The sensible order is therefore: first install the new APK over the existing app, and only consider deleting it when a conflict message appears.

Another question concerns the installation file itself: can it be deleted while the installed app stays? For the next update you need the file of the new version anyway, not the old one.

Updates via third-party stores

Some users download APKs through alternative stores and then ask in forums how to update apps via APKPure. One reply there says that Aptoide would recognise an installed app and offer an update. That is a forum statement, not a statement from the developer. For the two casinos with an Android app: 22Bet names only its own website as the source of the APK, and Irwin points to download icons on its homepage, according to the casino’s reply.

A file from a third-party store only works as an update if it is signed with the same certificate as the installed app; otherwise the attempt ends in the conflict described above. Searching for a “latest version” does not help much either, since no version information is available for any of the four brands. How to check the origin and authenticity of a file before updating is explained on the page about casino APK safety with the individual checks.

iPhone: updates via the App Store

On the iPhone there is no APK and therefore no manual installation over the existing app. You update App Store apps in the App Store via your account under “App Updates” with “Update” or “Update All”. Automatic updates are switched on under Settings › Apps › App Store › “App Updates”.

Whether the casinos offer an iOS app at all is unclear. 22Bet is in the App Store according to goal.com (Indian edition), Irwin according to AskGamblers; a search of the German App Store via the iTunes interface on 08.10.2026 returned no result for either. Frumzi and 5Gringos have no native iOS app. For apps from alternative marketplaces, Apple states: anyone who leaves the eligible region can keep using previously installed apps and update them for up to 90 days, while new installations are only possible within the region. More on the App Store, the mobile site and the Home Screen is on the page about the casino app for iPhone with all options on Apple devices.

Web app: updating without a download

Frumzi and 5Gringos take a different route. Neither offers an APK, but according to the operators their websites contain a web app manifest with display: standalone, in Frumzi’s case with a start_url containing utm_medium=pwa. Such a progressive web app is built with web technologies but provides the user experience of a platform-specific app and can be installed. There is no update in the APK sense: according to web.dev, the browser triggers an update when the service worker or its dependencies change. Download, source permission and signature comparison are not needed. There is no information on whether or how often Frumzi and 5Gringos update their web apps.

On the iPhone, you add the site in Safari via Share › “Add to Home Screen” and can turn on “Open as Web App” in the process. According to web.dev, Safari on iOS and iPadOS only picks up new manifest data such as icon or name when you add the web app again. The icon also appears only on the device where you added it. How the setup works step by step is shown on the page about the web app (PWA) in the browser for Android and iPhone.