Back in March, we noted that Google was just about to announce Google Play Gift Cards for the UK market, and then they did. Well, in the last 24 hours, we’ve seen some tips indicating that such a launch might not be far off for Australia, and let’s say this — we’re rather excited.
Let’s run down what we know.
Until this morning, the link known for redeeming gift cards (https://wallet.google.com/s/w/0/?hl=en&pli=1&page=redeemGiftCard#redeemGiftCard:) was not active when accessed from Australia; it simply returned an error message. Today, however, it presents a vastly different result:
This is the first indicator we’ve seen that there might be a local launch coming soon. Unfortunately, Google Play Gift Cards purchased overseas do not work on this link when used from Australia — an error message is returned stating “The code you entered is not available in your country”. This is true whether the redemption is attempted via the web link above, or via the Play Store app on an Android device.
We have approached Google Australia for comment on this, and unsurprisingly, there’s no jewels to be found there. Google Australia representatives have told Ausdroid today that there is nothing to announce on the gift cards front. Whether this means that something is around the corner, and not yet ready to be announced, is yet to be seen.
Ausdroid has also put out the feelers to retailers, contacting major gift card retailers to find out whether any word has leaked out to retail channels. At this stage, this lives firmly in the rumour category, but the signs are slowly moving towards an Australian availability for Play Store Gift Cards soon.
What do you think? Coming soon? Got the inside word and think we need to know more? Let us know in the comments, or send us a tip.