Unpaid Salaries And Flailing New Bets Deepen WinZO’s Survival Bid

Nearly a year after regulatory crackdowns crippled its real-money gaming (RMG) business, WinZO is locked into multiple battles. With bank accounts frozen by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), months of outstanding salaries and employee exits mounting, the startup is scrambling to build new revenue streams.

“Close to 130 employees have not received their salaries since January. WinZO Games, which had around 220 employees in August last year, has seen several exits after the government pulled the plug on the industry overnight,” sources close to the company said.

They added that employees seeking to resign immediately due to growing financial pressures are being required to serve notice periods of up to three months before being allowed to leave. Employees seeking to resign without serving their full notice period were told that their base salary for the corresponding notice duration would be deducted from their final settlement.

Meanwhile, the startup is still attempting to build new revenue streams around ZO Play. According to sources, WinZO initially acquired 100-200 short-form dramas from Southeast Asian countries and integrated the content into the core WinZO app under the WinZO TV banner. The platform managed to attract a “a few lakh” users during its early days before being rebranded as ZO Play. However, the momentum slowed after the ED probe disrupted the app’s operations for several months. 

In February this year, the startup launched a standalone ZO Play app on the Google Play Store. The platform initially offered users access at ₹2 per day or for a few episodes, but users opting for autopay allegedly saw deductions of nearly ₹499 from their bank accounts within days. The app’s Google Play Store reviews are filled with user complaints regarding this. Users are asking for refunds. 

Apart from short dramas, the startup also launched ZO Gold during Diwali last year in partnership with SafeGold, allowing users to invest in digital gold starting at ₹2.

However, the offering did not see much traction and was suspended. 

“ZO Gold was launched during Diwali to capitalise on the Dhanteras shopping rush,” said another source aware of the matter. 

The startup also incorporated another entity, STTOQ Invest Tech Private Limited, in September last year to enter the stockbroking space. However, no such platform has been publicly launched so far. Also, several business heads have stepped down or are serving their notice periods. 

“They are trying different things to build a solid revenue stream, but to no avail,” a source said. 

Questions sent to WinZO by Inc42 did not elicit any response till the time of publication.

WinZO’s Long Winter

Founded by Pavan Nanda and Saumya Singh in 2018, WinZO used to partner with third-party developers to host games on its mobile application. It generated revenue through platform fees charged to users participating in real-money games. 

However, the startup’s operations were hit hard after the Indian government tightened regulations around real-money gaming. While rivals, such as Dream11 and Zupee, diversified into adjacent offerings to stay afloat, WinZO attempted to pivot towards short-form entertainment. 

In August last year, the startup launched a short drama platform called WinZO TV, which was later rebranded as ZO Play. 

But the startup’s problems only escalated after the ED raided WinZO’s offices in November 2025. The investigative agency alleged that WinZO generated around ₹3,522 Cr through illegal or questionable RMG operations and transferred nearly ₹255 Cr to subsidiary Zo.

The investigative agency also arrested cofounders Saymya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. While Rathore later secured bail from a Bengaluru sessions court, Nanda remained in custody until February this year. 

The startup also approached the Karnataka High Court, seeking limited relief to access frozen bank accounts to clear salaries. While the High Court initially permitted limited withdrawals, the Supreme Court quashed the order. 

WinZO’s Uphill Climb 

While WinZO is trying to scale its already existing new vertical, there are major hurdles ahead. Even if ZO Play manages to gain traction, it faces an uphill battle in an increasingly crowded short-form entertainment market. 

The segment already has established players such as Kuku and Pocket FM that have expanded beyond audio into short dramas, built a large user base, and scaled aggressively across geographies. More recently, JioStar entered the space with the launch of Tadka, further intensifying competition in the microdrama segment. 

Similarly, any potential foray into stock broking could place WinZO in another highly competitive market dominated by well-capitalised incumbents. The space is led by players such as Groww and Zerodha, while many, including Dhan, Upstox and IndMoney, are also vying for investor attention. Breaking into these categories requires significant capital — a luxury that WinZO currently does not have. 

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