India's largest Fintech service, Paytm, has been removed from the Google Play Store. The other Paytm apps such as Paytm for Business, Paytm Money, Paytm Mall are still available.
The removal of the app comes after Google’s Suzanne Frey, who is Vice President-Product, Android Security and Privacy, detailed the guidelines in a blog post about the "gambling policies of the Google."
"We have the same goals for our gambling policy. 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," wrote Frey.
The removal happened amid the ban of PUBG and other Chinese backed apps from the Play Store after the Indian government banned several apps in different phases.
As per an insider working in Paytm, the move might have happened due to the Paytm First Games. Paytm First Games is a vertical of Paytm and has betting features. As such, Google might have withdrawn the app from their Play Store.
Paytm First Games offers more than 300 titles including Ludo, Rummy, Tic Tac Toe, Break the Bake, Fantasy Football, and Fantasy Cricket. The users can also utilize the winning points to buy discount vouchers of the leading brands on the platform.
Meanwhile, Paytm has alerted its users about the unavailability,