Paytm is One97's flagship and one of India’s biggest all-round financial services apps — and perhaps even the most widely recognized and accepted in the country. Many Paytm users were left perplexed when the noted app went missing from the Play Store earlier today. As it turns out, Google has pulled the app from its marketplace for violating some of its gambling-related policies.

Google India published a blog post today, reiterating its Play Store gambling policies and detailing the consequences if an app developer fails to adhere — without even mentioning Paytm. TechCrunch could confirm through its sources that Paytm indeed violated these policies more than once and allowed sports betting, which would’ve most likely grown multifold during the Indian Premier League (IPL), a wildly popular cricket tournament set to kick off tomorrow, September 19.

In a tweet, Paytm has acknowledged the fact that its app is “temporarily unavailable” on the Play Store, without giving away any further detail on the matter. Google notes that apps can surely make a comeback to its store after they’ve fixed the flagged issues. So, there’s still hope that the app could be back on the Play Store after a small hiatus. In addition to the main Paytm app, Google has also taken down its online gaming and fantasy sports app Paytm First Games.

Meanwhile, those who already had Paytm installed on their phones can continue using it as usual; visiting the Paytm website is another option. Google hasn’t pulled the trigger on Paytm’s other sister apps either as their respective Play Store listings remain intact.

Thanks: Gurkanwal Singh