The leading Indian e-commerce company recently announced a “Mini App” store to promote small developers and businesses in India. PayTM will be hosting links to Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), which could be accessed via the main app. These PWAs will be light-weight micro apps built using HTML and JavaScript. The Mini App store will serve as a dedicated platform for businesses across the country.
The initiative comes two weeks after PayTM was temporarily removed from the Google Play Store for violating its policies against online casinos and unregulated gambling apps.
“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,” clarified Suzanne Frey, vice-president, Product, Android Security and Privacy at Google.
PayTM’s main app had a link to its fantasy sports platform, PayTM First Games, which rendered the parent company violating the Play Store policies. The issue was soon rectified, and PayTM can be downloaded from the Store again, while First Games can be accessed separately.
VERDICT
The Mini App store is a brilliant initiative to promote mobile development and small-scale businesses by granting them a separate space to shine on. The likes of Rapido, OverStory, and Decathlon, and many more are already available, with over 300 more to arrive.
However, we shouldn’t be expecting any fantasy sports to be made available on the Mini Apps store anytime soon, as it’ll lead to the same breach of code that led to PayTM’s removal last month. Any fantasy sports platform, like others, will have to be made available separately.
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