Google had said that it does not allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting.
Paytm on Sunday said the company was “forced to comply” with Google’s mandate of removing its UPI cashback offer and scratch cards to get relisted on the Play Store.
Google in an abrupt move had pulled out the Paytm app briefly from the Play Store on Friday before restoring the app services later in the day. The tech major is understood to have viewed Paytm’s recently launched cashback campaign to be in violation of its gambling policies.
The Paytm Cricket League on its consumer app allows users to get player stickers after each transaction, collect them and receive Paytm Cashback.
The Noida-based payments firm said that on Friday morning, Google in a mailed statement to the company observed: “Your app contains content that doesn’t comply with the Gambling policy as it offers games with “loyalty” (e.g. engagement or activity) points that (1) are accrued or accelerated via real-money purchases which (2) can be exchanged for items or prizes of real-world monetary value.”
Paytm said it was not given an opportunity to respond to Google’s concerns.
Reiterating that Paytm’s cashback campaign was within guidelines, as well as all laws of the land, the company pointed out that Google Pay regularly runs similar campaigns in India.
“At the beginning of this Cricket Season itself, Google Pay has started its ‘Tez Shots’ campaign which clearly says, “Score Runs to earn assured rewards worth up to Rs 1 lakh,” Paytm said in a blog.
In a blog post on Friday, Google had said that it does not 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 the firm’s policies.
“Google and its employees are making policies which are over and above the laws of our country, and are arbitrarily implementing them,” Paytm said.
The company also said that the Google Play Support team had separately written to them on three occasions about Paytm First Games’ promotion through the Paytm app. “While we strenuously disagreed with the allegation that we are breaching the policy (and we disagree with the policy itself too), we immediately complied with the diktat that barred us from promoting our gaming subsidiary,” Paytm said.
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