App Store Guideline 5.3 explained: Gaming, Gambling, and Lotteries

Guideline 5.3 sits in Apple's Legal section. Apple treats gaming, gambling, and lotteries as regulated, and says to expect a longer review if you include them.

The parent rule is the frame. The specific bars are the four rules under it: the developer must sponsor the contest (5.3.1), official rules must be in the app and must say Apple is not a sponsor or involved (5.3.2), In-App Purchase cannot buy credit or currency for real-money gaming (5.3.3), and real-money gaming or lotteries need a license, must be geo-restricted to licensed places, and must be free on the App Store (5.3.4).

Skill-based games with no prize, no sweepstakes, and no cash-out are outside this rule. The moment a user can win something of value, enter a drawing, or wager real money, 5.3 applies.

Whether the app is a contest, a lottery, a social casino, or licensed real-money gaming. Reviewers will not guess. Screenshots, the description, and the first session have to show the same mechanic.

For a contest, sweepstakes, or raffle: official rules are inside the app, eligibility is stated, and the rules say Apple is not a sponsor and is not involved.

For real-money gaming (sports betting, poker, casino games, horse racing) or a lottery: the app is free, storefronts match the places you are licensed, and App Review notes include the license. Illegal gambling aids, including card counters, are not allowed. A lottery app has to have consideration, chance, and a prize.

A giveaway, leaderboard prize, or 'win an iPhone' flow with no official rules in the app, or rules that never say Apple is not a sponsor.

Coins, chips, or credits bought with In-App Purchase can be cashed out, redeemed for money, or used to wager.

A betting, poker, casino, or lottery app is a paid download, is available in countries where you have no license, or has no license details in App Review notes.

The product page looks like an unlicensed casino (chips, cash-out language, gambling screenshots) even when the build has no real-money path. Reviewers treat that as 5.3 until the listing and the build match.

Name the mechanic in one sentence in App Review notes: skill contest, sweepstakes, social game with no cash-out, or licensed real-money gaming.

Put the official rules in the app, including who can enter, how a winner is chosen, what the prize is, and that Apple is not a sponsor and is not involved.

If you are not licensed real-money gaming, remove cash-out, prize redemption for money, and any In-App Purchase that buys wagering credit.

If you are licensed, keep the app free, limit storefronts to licensed locations, and paste the license holder and covered countries into App Review notes. Do not sell gaming credit with In-App Purchase.

Quote the rule Apple cited (5.3 or 5.3.1 through 5.3.4) and state the mechanic in one sentence.

Give the build number and the path to the rules screen, including where the Apple non-involvement line appears. If the issue was licensing, point to the license text already in App Review notes and the storefronts you kept.

If the listing was the problem, say which screenshot or description line you changed. Do not reply that it is 'just a game' without showing the screen that proves there is no cash-out.