Google says cashbacks, vouchers don’t violate Play Store policies after Paytm blog post

Following a blog post by payments platform Paytm, Google today issued a statement clarifying that cashbacks and stickers do not violate its policies, but gambling platforms do. Essentially, the company took down Paytm from its platform on Friday because the platform was using its payments app to promote Paytm First Games, which has a daily fantasy sports aspect to it, hence violating Google’s policies.

“Offering cashbacks and vouchers alone do not constitute a violation of our Google Play gambling policies. Last week we reiterated our Play Store gambling policies. Our policies don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting, including daily fantasy sports in India. We enforce our policies very thoughtfully to provide a safe and secure experience for consumers, while also giving developers the platform and tools they need to build sustainable businesses. In the case of 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,” a Google spokesperson said.