Just days after shutting down its real-money gaming (RMG) offerings in line with India’s new online gaming law, Winzo has announced the launch of its platform in the United States.
The Gurugram-based company also unveiled its new short-form video content platform called ZO TV. “We’re on a mission to bring the most exciting, localised short drama series to our 250 million users on WinZO. The scale is massive, the opportunity is real, and we’re moving fast, with all the energy and excitement this deserves,” Saumya Singh Rathore, co-founder of Winzo, wrote in a post on LinkedIn.
With the expansion, Winzo now has a footprint in three of the world’s top four gaming markets. The United States is the world’s largest gaming market in terms of revenue, the company said in a press note on Sunday, August 24. Winzo began offering its services in Brazil two years ago.
The company further said it is looking to open the US market to Indian game developers through its plug-and-launch distribution model.
Founded in 2018, Winzo reported an operating revenue of Rs 1,055 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2024. Its expansion to overseas markets and pivot toward micro-dramas comes in response to the new The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which was passed by the Parliament last week and received the President’s assent on Friday.
It is one of several companies in India’s booming real-money gaming industry that had to shut down paid operations almost overnight as the Act imposes a blanket ban on all online money games irrespective of whether they are games of skill or chance. It also applies to offshore RMG companies whose services are accessible in India.
“In compliance with the new law, we are responsibly withdrawing impacted offerings w.e.f; 22nd August 2025; all service providers’ dues will be honoured; and all user balances will be safely refunded without any loss to a single user,” Winzo had said shortly after the Bill was passed.
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“While expanding globally, WinZO will continue to serve its Indian audience with multiple offerings lined up through its platform, while responsibly withdrawing limited services impacted by evolving regulations,” the company said on Sunday.
Winzo is not alone in overhauling its entire business model in the wake of the blanket ban on online money games.
Dream11, the country’s biggest fantasy sports app and the Indian cricket team’s main jersey sponsor, also communicated to its employees that it will wind down its real money operations. It is reportedly launching a new gold loan app under a new service called Dream Money.
Other platforms such as Zupee, Probo, and Mobile Premier League (MPL) have also shifted entirely to free-to-play online social games to comply with the new law.
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