The Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued a notice to WinZO on Tuesday (November 11, 2025) after fintech company Paytm filed an insolvency petition against the gaming platform over unpaid dues worth Rs 3.6 crore pertaining to advertisement services.
The two-judge bench, comprising judicial member Justice Jyotsna Sharma and technical member Anu Jagmohan Singh, directed the online gaming startup to submit its reply to the insolvency plea in the next two weeks. The second hearing in the matter has been scheduled for December 15, 2025.
The development comes nearly three months after the Centre imposed a blanket ban on the real-money gaming industry, knee-capping platforms such as WinZo, PokerBaazi, Zupee, Dream11, RummyCircle, among others.
The Paytm-WinZO Fiasco
The issue stems from WinZO’s failure to clear the four invoices, which arose from promoting its real-money gaming products on Paytm, according to a Bar and Bench report.
The report stated that Paytm issued a demand notice for the pending invoices, each carrying a 60-day payment term, on October 1. Krishnendu Datta, the lawyer representing Paytm in the case, alleged that WinZO failed to make payments despite the notice. Furthermore, he submitted that the advertisements were delivered in full and that WinZO never disputed the advertisement placements.
“There is no communication or email where they say advertisements were not placed,” he added. Meanwhile, Datta also noted that the validation data from AppFlyer, a tool used to track ad campaigns, had been provided to WinZO in line with the contractual terms.
In response to claims made by Paytm, WinZO’s counsel Abhishek Malhotra rejected any liability. Citing clause 14 of the purchase order, Malhotra contended that the invoices had to be validated through email before becoming payable.
Malhotra further argued that email correspondence between the two parties demonstrated that the invoices were ‘under validation’ and had been forwarded to the central team for verification, claiming it meant the payment was therefore not yet due.
However, Paytm’s counsel dismissed WinZO’s case as a “sham defence”, alleging that the gaming firm was using procedural excuses to delay payment. Highlighting the Centre’s recent crackdown on the real money gaming industry, Datta argued that the non-payment coincided with the action. Additionally, he suggested that financial turmoil, caused by the RMG ban, could have resulted in the default.
In a statement to Storyboard18, WinZO retaliated, saying, “It is unfortunate that, after an eight-year partnership, Paytm has escalated a routine commercial settlement into an insolvency proceeding as a pressure tactic. Such matters should be resolved through dialogue and due process, not by weaponising insolvency frameworks.”
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The company reiterated that the invoices in question were never approved and that its…
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