Online Gaming Act: After Dream11, WinZo Does Hard Pivot, Launches Short Video Content Offering
WinZo was among the platforms most impacted by the Online Gaming Act, which criminalises money-based games, advertisements, and transactions.
Days after shutting its real-money gaming services, WinZo has launched a short video content platform in a bid to diversify into new offerings.
WinZo's short video platform 'ZO TV' has been launched in India and in the US, the company said in a press release on Sunday. ZO TV is currently housed within the WinZo application and does not have a standalone platform for itself.
"ZO TV, our new short video format, further diversifies our content offerings and strengthens WinZO’s position as a global hub and one stop destination for interactive entertainment," co-founders Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda said in the release.
While India makes up the world’s largest market by user base, WinZo's entry into the US marks its presence in the world’s largest gaming market by revenue. It now has a global presence in three countries, the third one being Brazil, where it forayed into in 2023.
Eventually, the company says, as the business scales, its product offerings and features will continue to expand.
The pivot into a different offering comes at a time when the homegrown real-money gaming platform is scrambling to reinvent its business model after regulatory headwinds threatened its core model. WinZo was among the platforms most impacted by the Online Gaming Act, which criminalises money-based games, advertisements, and transactions. It had officially shuttered its RMG offerings on Aug. 22 citing the new law.
The move follows fantasy sports unicorn Dream11's quiet pilot for a new wealth management platform, Dream Money, which it launched barely a day after shutting down all real-money games in response to the government’s ban.
India's online real money gaming sector is valued at about $25 billion, generating over Rs 31,000 crore in annual revenue and contributing close to Rs 20,000 crore in taxes, news agency PTI reported on Aug. 20, quoting official sources. The industry supports 2 lakh jobs across over 400 companies, while attracting nearly Rs 25,000 crore in foreign direct investment.
"While the direction of policy is clear, the finer outlines of regulation, enforcement, and compliance timelines remain subject to further deliberation and change," analysts at JM Financial wrote in a note on Aug. 20.
"In our view, the implementation of the bill would essentially make online real money gaming infeasible in India," researchers, led by Abhisek Banerjee, wrote for ICICI Securities on Aug. 21.
