Google briefly pulled India's hugely popular payments app Paytm from its Play Store on Friday over gambling policy violations.
The Paytm app, which competes with Google Pay in India, was removed from the Play Store in India early on Friday before reappearing in the early evening.
Without naming Paytm, Google posted a blog outlining its gambling rules in India, stating that "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".
Paytm's app was removed because of a cricket promotion that let customers claim cashback. It took down the promotion and its app was restored to the Play Store.
A Paytm spokesperson tells the Financial Times: "Google sent us an email this morning and unilaterally without negotiation took us off the app store. It’s an absolute arm twister with no respite."