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The Indian government has ordered both Apple and Google to remove betting apps from their respective app stores. While Google has already taken action against such apps in the country, Apple is standing firm and wants more reasons to remove these apps. The report from ET says that Apple wants a legal basis to comply with the orders from the Indian government.

It seems the company is not completely against the idea of removing these apps but it seeks a concrete reason for doing so. The report claims Apple has made it clear that it cannot arbitrarily remove apps which makes it unavailable for Apple users in the country.

Apple points out that the betting apps operate without any constraints in other markets and it would generally be difficult for the company to make country-specific changes to the App Store such as the one put forward by the Indian government. Having said that, Apple has been told to implement the order in some way, the report adds.

Earlier this year, more than 130 betting apps such as Betway, BetNix and Bet Analytix among others were banned in the country after MeitY released an order to stop these companies from operating here.

Google was quick to adhere to the order, while Apple believes that the order itself does not state a solid reason for their removal from the App Store. The order from MeitY said these apps are in violation of Section 69A of the IT Act which refers to any threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

The report also mentions that Apple has since the MeitY order removed Betway from the App Store for Indian users but it doesn’t want to act hastily upon all apps which may or may not be culprit or acting against the policies of its App Store in the country. It will be interesting to see how Apple plans to act on the other apps and does it finally comply with the order to decide to stand its ground.