Google Has Different Rules For Itself: Paytm

Following the high drama between Paytm and Google on Friday, the Noida-based mobile payments company on Sunday evening accused Google of having a different set of policies when it comes to its app.

Paytm said Google Pay is running a similar cricket-themed cashback campaign called Tez Shots which offers rewards up to Rs 1 lakh based on points and a lucky draw.

Search engine giant Google hit back, saying that action was taken due to repeat violations and it does not discriminate among platforms in its policies.

‘Offering fantasy gaming is core violation of policies’

On Friday, Google had taken down Paytm from its app store for several hours, before restoring it later in the evening, due to a cricket sticker promo on payments run by the company. The Alibaba- and Softbank-backed firm said that in Tez Shots, different scores starting from 50 to over 1,000 can result in rewards and discounts on different services that users avail via the Google Pay app. "Presumably, such cashback campaigns of Google Pay are not in breach of Play Store policies, or maybe they are, but a different set of rules apply to Google’s own apps," the company said in its post.

When contacted, a Google spokesperson said that cashbacks and vouchers are not the core violation of the policies but offering fantasy gaming is. Paytm First Games is the platform through which the company is present in fantasy gaming, recently outlining a Rs 300-crore budget to promote the business and hired Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador.

“Our policies don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting, including daily fantasy sports in India... In the case of repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts,” said the Google spokesperson.

On the promotion of Paytm First Games through its main app, it said Google had alerted it three times — on August 20, August 28 and September 1st — raising a red flag on the matter.

TOI had reported on Saturday citing this was one of the concerns raised by the internet search giant. “While we strenuously disagreed with allegation that we are breaching the policy (and we disagree with the policy itself too), we immediately complied with diktat that barred us from promoting our gaming subsidiary,” Paytm said.

“We wish to make it clear that driving traffic or promoting fantasy sports is not gambling! Conveniently, Paytm First Games can do a paid promotion on YouTube (which is owned by Google), but it is not allowed to do the same advertisement on the Paytm app, as per Google policy,” it added.

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