Extension Rejection After a Year of Approval - Seeking Clarification

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Jonathan Ferreira

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Oct 7, 2024, 1:58:10 AMOct 7
to Chromium Extensions

Good morning, friends.

I recently updated my extension, which has been live on the Chrome Web Store for over a year, and it was rejected by Google Chrome moderation.

Violation Reference ID: Cobre Cinza

My extension helps users by automating the selection of their chosen numbers to purchase a lottery ticket on the official government website of Brazil.

Here’s a brief description of the site:

The Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) Lottery is a government institution in Brazil that operates in full compliance with Brazilian laws. Caixa is regulated by the Ministry of Economy and holds the monopoly on lotteries in Brazil, making it the only institution authorized by the federal government to operate and sell lottery products in the country.

Brazilian legislation that governs lotteries is Decree-Law No. 204, February 27, 1967, which centralizes the exploitation of lotteries at the federal level. Therefore, Caixa Econômica Federal operates under strict legal regulations, offering lotteries as a public service.

Lotteries such as Mega-Sena, Quina, and others run by Caixa are entirely legal and even encouraged by the Brazilian government as a way to raise funds for areas such as social security, education, culture, and healthcare.

Government Regulation: Caixa Econômica Federal is not a traditional online gambling site. Instead, it is an official platform for purchasing lottery tickets, where users can buy tickets online, just like they would in a physical lottery shop.

The website loterias.caixa.gov.br is the official platform for purchasing lottery tickets and is overseen by the Brazilian government. The platform does not promote gambling in the traditional sense; it offers a service to purchase tickets for regulated draws. The draws themselves are conducted physically, and the results are widely published.

My extension does not facilitate traditional online gambling, such as casinos, poker, or sports betting. It simply helps users fill out lottery tickets on the Caixa website more efficiently, similar to how they would in a physical lottery shop.

The extension’s functionality is productive and supportive, without offering any unfair advantage. It automates the form-filling process, allowing users to enter their preferred numbers more easily.

Why was the extension not blocked when it was first published a year ago, and why is it now being blocked due to a misinterpretation of Brazilian laws? Can someone please help clarify this situation?

Oliver Dunk

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Oct 7, 2024, 9:49:13 AMOct 7
to Jonathan Ferreira, Chromium Extensions
Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for sharing this. Have you appealed the verdict at https://support.google.com/chrome_webstore/contact/one_stop_support yet? If you could do that and share the case number / your extension ID that would be helpful so we can track this internally. We try our best to help on this mailing list, but it isn't easy for other teams within Google to follow :)

I'm not responsible for enforcement and this is an area of policy I haven't explored much, but I can see why your extension might have been flagged. That said, ultimately I think an appeal is the best option so the team can take another look and decide if they see this as something we intend to use the gambling policy for.

Thanks,
Oliver Dunk | DevRel, Chrome Extensions | https://developer.chrome.com/ | London, GB


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Jonathan Ferreira

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Oct 7, 2024, 12:16:02 PMOct 7
to Chromium Extensions, Oliver Dunk, Chromium Extensions, Jonathan Ferreira
Hi Oliver,

Of course, my extension id is lleccpmgmkoajogkgmnpbgoodgebpnlb

Try opening a ticket explaining that the website belongs to the government itself. However, the answers were short and meaningless. I responded with the information posted here and still have no response.

My contribution can be obtained over time from Google, that the site which is the target of the extension does not include illegal gaming or online betting.

For better adjustments in terms of laws, I changed my extension to apply only in Brazil, to follow the laws of the parents in force.

Thanks.

Jonathan Ferreira

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Oct 8, 2024, 9:29:08 AMOct 8
to Chromium Extensions, Jonathan Ferreira, Oliver Dunk, Chromium Extensions

Sorry, I forgot to provide the ID of the ticket being processed.

4-6003000037630

Oliver Dunk

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Oct 8, 2024, 9:31:19 AMOct 8
to Jonathan Ferreira, Chromium Extensions
Hi Jonathan,

Thanks so much! I was writing a reply when you messaged.

I've taken a look on our side and I can see that the case is still open and being investigated. As I'm sure you can understand, especially with policy decisions we aren't always able to reply immediately. We will definitely follow up soon.

Let me know if you haven't heard back within the next week or so (hopefully it'll be much sooner).

Thanks,
Oliver Dunk | DevRel, Chrome Extensions | https://developer.chrome.com/ | London, GB

Jonathan Ferreira

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Oct 8, 2024, 9:37:29 AMOct 8
to Chromium Extensions, Oliver Dunk, Chromium Extensions, Jonathan Ferreira
Thanks Oliver,

thanks for the support.

I am going to wait. I had to invest a lot of time to update the extension. I wait hopefully.

Thanks

Jonathan Ferreira

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Oct 17, 2024, 6:56:00 PMOct 17
to Chromium Extensions, Jonathan Ferreira, Oliver Dunk, Chromium Extensions
Hi Oliver,

I would like to request your help to release my extension.

I have been waiting for support for more than 14 days, without any response. The extension was approved last year, in 2023, and at the time it was proven that it did not violate any Brazilian legislation or Google's compliance rules. It was validated with the team, a simple form filling tool for a government website.

I need to know if, with each update, it will be necessary to go through the entire validation process again. This waiting time, which can last up to a month, makes the process of updating the extension unfeasible.

Your help with this procedure is essential, as this delay is harming our Google Adwords campaigns.

Thank you in advance.
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