Which businesses can use the WhatsApp Business API? Meta's banned and restricted industries

The rule in one line

Meta prohibits using WhatsApp for Business for buying, selling, promoting, or otherwise facilitating the exchange of certain regulated or restricted goods and services. Meta decides what falls in these groups, and it says the ban applies whatever licences, registrations or approvals your business holds.

Businesses and products Meta does not allow

Meta's policy lists these:

1. Firearms
2. Alcohol and tobacco
3. Drugs, whether prescription, recreational, or otherwise
4. Medical and healthcare products
5. Endangered species (wildlife and plants)
6. Live non-endangered animals, excluding livestock
7. Hazardous goods and materials
8. Real, virtual or fake currency, including ICOs and binary options
9. Body parts or fluids
10. Business models, goods or services Meta finds fraudulent, misleading, offensive or deceptive, or exploitative, inappropriate, or putting undue pressure on targeted groups
11. Real money gambling and gaming
12. Adult products and services
13. Dating services
14. Multi-level marketing
15. Payday loans, paycheck advances, peer-to-peer lending, debt collection, and bail bonds

Messages must also never contain offensive content, such as sexually explicit material or nudity.

Three industries allowed only in some countries

Meta calls these Regulated Verticals. You may message about them only on the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API, never the WhatsApp Business app), only in the countries Meta lists, only to people aged 18 or over, and within local law. You may not sell them inside WhatsApp: Meta does not allow commerce features, such as catalogues and in-chat payments, for these.

1. Alcohol: allowed in a list of countries. India is not on it, so alcohol brands and shops cannot promote alcohol on WhatsApp to people in India.
2. Over-the-counter medicines: allowed in a list of countries that includes India. Prescription medicines stay banned.
3. Online gambling and gaming: allowed only in Australia, Japan, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and only with written permission from Meta plus proof of a licence. India is not on the list.

What counts as online gambling and gaming

Meta's definition is wide: any product or service where anything of monetary value is part of the entry or the prize. Meta names betting, lotteries, raffles, casino games, fantasy sports, bingo, poker, skill game tournaments and sweepstakes. It also covers games where you pay to continue or to get an advantage in winning a money prize, and promotions for such games even if nobody can play inside the chat.

So real-money fantasy sports, rummy and poker apps, and skill tournaments with cash prizes count as online gambling and gaming under Meta's policy. They are not allowed to message people in India.

Meta does not ask for its permission for physical, real-money gambling (for example, a brick-and-mortar casino), state or government lotteries, and games that are entirely free to play. These must still follow local law.

Other uses Meta does not allow

1. Political parties, politicians, political candidates and political campaigns, and companies offering political campaign services.
2. Law enforcement, military, and national security or intelligence agencies.
3. Telemedicine, or sending or asking for health information, where local rules need special systems for health data.
4. Asking people to share full card numbers, bank account numbers or ID card numbers in the chat.

Government bodies may use the platform, but only through a Meta Solution Provider.

What this means for a business in India

If your business sells everyday goods or services, you are almost certainly fine. Clinics, hospitals and labs commonly use WhatsApp for appointments, reminders and reports, which are services, not the sale of medical products; but they must not sell prescription medicines on WhatsApp, and must take care with health information.

If your business is alcohol, tobacco, real-money gaming or betting, dating, crypto, multi-level marketing, payday loans or adult products, Meta's policy does not let you use WhatsApp Business to promote it to people in India. Using it anyway puts your number and your Meta business account at risk of being blocked.

VartaAPI asks for your type of business when you sign up, and cannot open an account for a business type Meta bans in India.