India’s digital payment app, Paytm and its gaming arm Paytm First Games have been removed from Google Play Store. Owned by One97 Communications Ltd, Paytm and Paytm First Games are nowhere to be seen on Google Play Store while all the other apps such as Paytm For Business, Paytm Money, Paytm Mall, and others owned by the company can be download from Google Play Store.
Revealing the reason why Google banned Paytm and Paytm First Games, Google said on its blog, “We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies,”
The ban comes a few days after Paytm First Games in Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador.
Google might have mentioned its strict policies against gambling and online games but it does not explain the reason what led to Paytm and Paytm First Games ban.
Taking to Twitter Paytm has ensured its users saying that, “Paytm Android app is temporarily unavailable on Google’s Play Store for new downloads or updates. It will be back very soon. All your money is completely safe, and you can continue to enjoy your Paytm app as normal.”
Notably, this is not the first time Google Plat Store removed any application for violating their policies. Earlier, Google Play Store pulled down digital payment app MobiKwik over violation of Google’s ads policy.
The ban comes a few days after Paytm First Games, a fantasy gaming platform for sports like cricket, football, basketball and Kabaddi had said that it aims to reach 100 million users in the upcoming T20 league and will be investing Rs 300 crore on branding and marketing this year.
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