After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched WinZO‘s office for several days and froze assets valued at approximately ₹505 crore, WinZO filed a lawsuit against the agency with the Karnataka High Court. In addition to demanding a stay on the decision that resulted in the freezing of its bank accounts and holdings, the company has filed a writ petition asking for the search and seizure operations conducted between November 18 and 22 to be ruled illegal.
This is the most recent move in a high-profile regulatory battle for the firm, which has been in the public eye since its co-founders, Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda, were arrested in November 2025 on money laundering-related accusations.
Following the filing of several FIRs against the gaming enterprise, the Enforcement Directorate began its investigation. The complaints included allegations of fraud, account blocking, abuse of PAN credentials, impersonation, and losses to customers as a result of purportedly falsified results. Four WinZO-affiliated homes in Delhi and Gurugram were the subject of coordinated searches by ED shortly after, which resulted in the freezing of assets, including corporate bonds, mutual funds, bank deposits, and fixed income instruments.
The agency claims that Section 17(1A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) applies to the enforcement action. The arrests soon followed, raising questions about the platform’s operational openness, KYC procedures, and business strategy.
On November 24, ED made a public announcement that it had discovered proof that WinZO ran real money games in which players unintentionally competed against software algorithms rather than actual human opponents. The agency claims that this amounts to dishonesty, especially when money is at risk.
Almost ₹43 crore is still withheld from consumer accounts, according to the investigation, which also alleges that WinZO delayed or restricted user withdrawals. This is true even if real-money gaming was outlawed in India by the government on August 22, 2025.
It should be mentioned, nevertheless, that India’s Online Gaming Law has not yet been completely put into effect. Even a 180-day repayment window for gaming companies to settle outstanding customer accounts after the law goes into effect is proposed in the October draft regulations. As a result, the legal environment becomes more complicated, and WinZO’s legal challenge may be heavily dependent on this period of transition.
Cross-Border Gaming Operations Under Scanner Additionally, according to the ED, WinZO continued to use the same platform and technology from India to operate real-money gambling activities elsewhere, notably in Brazil, the United States, and Germany. An American bank account associated with WinZO US Inc., which the agency has referred to as a shell company because primary management and operations are still situated in India, is allegedly holding about $55 million (roughly ₹490 crore).
WinZO, which was founded by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore, offers more than 100 online games in 15 Indian languages, most of which were created by international third-party developers. The firm has raised about $100 million thus far with the support of investors such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Courtside, Maker’s Fund, and Kalaari Capital.
WinZO shifted into more recent verticals, such as microdramas, digital gold investing, and interactive content offers, following the ban on real-money gambling. The business even introduced WinZO Socials, a tool that lets users communicate with virtual specialists such as career trainers, fitness instructors, and astrologers.
However, the WinZO website and app are still unavailable and show a maintenance downtime message. The business assures customers that their money is secure by attributing this to a server problem.
In what has rapidly grown to be one of the most keenly followed instances in India’s online gambling industry, WinZO’s appeal against the Enforcement Directorate represents a clear pushback. The company is currently at a crucial turning point that might affect both its future commercial strategy and the regulatory environment influencing digital gaming in India. This is due to arrests, seized assets, allegations of a cross-border operation, and continuous judicial scrutiny. In addition to affecting WinZO’s capacity to continue operations and obtain funding, the High Court’s decision may also provide a broader precedent for the nation’s future approaches to user safety, real-money gaming compliance, and the implementation of transitional policies.