Google removed India’s Paytm from the Play store for ‘repeatedly’ violating its gambling policies on Friday.
The Google Play listing of the Paytm app is showing an error that reads, “We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.”
“Dear Paytm’ers, 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,” the company posted on its official Twitter account.
Paytm App Pulled Down Due to Online Gambling?
“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,” Google said in its blog post earlier today.
Paytm and Paytm First Games app were also pulled down because of the addition of a fantasy cricket tournament. The apps are no longer available for download through Google Play. Paytm is India’s most valuable startup and claims over 50 million monthly active users.
In an email Google has sent to many firms in India, the company asked developers to pause all advertising campaigns in their apps to drive users to websites that offer installation files of sports betting apps.
Google added: “We have these policies to protect users from potential harm. When an app violates these policies, we notify the developer of the violation and remove the app from Google Play until the developer brings the app into compliance. And in the case where there are repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts.”
