Digital wallet Paytm removed from the Google Playstore on Friday, According to a Google blog post, Paytm was pulled down for being an “unregulated gambling app”.
Paytm is the leading digital payment app in India, claiming over 50 million active users a month. Users of Twitter were the first to notice the app missing from the store.
“We don’t allow online casinos/support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. It includes if app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money/cash prizes,” said a Google blog post quoted by CNBC-TV18 and The Indian Express.
“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. Our policies are applied and enforced on all developers consistently,” said the blog post.