Hours after banning the Paytm app from the Playstore on Friday for repetitive violations of Google’s policies on online gambling, Google Play Store was again restored. However, the Paytm First Games app has not been restored at the time of writing.
The Paytm App, recently, was removed from the Play Store after the former added a fantasy cricket tournament to the app. As per the reports, Google said that the fantasy cricket tournament violates Google Play policies by allowing gambling. But Paytm’s CEO clarified that the tournament only provides cashback and doesn’t promote gambling.
Besides the Paytm app, Google Play Store also pulled down the Paytm First Games app that also included the same fantasy cricket features with real money betting. As the ban happened, Google also released a blog post explaining its online gambling policies.
“We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting,” the search giant said on its official India blog. “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.” It declined to comment on Paytm’s specific charges.
Firing back at Google, Madhur Deora, president, One97 Communications Pvt., which owns Paytm said that Google itself promotes cashback offers via Google Pay and now is talking about being fair.
