WinZO Faces New Insolvency Petition From Arve Digital Media Over ₹1.59 Crore Unpaid Dues
Pranav B Prem
After the recent insolvency action initiated by Paytm, online gaming platform WinZO is now facing another Section 9 petition—this time from Arve Digital Media, a digital marketing and user-growth solutions company. Arve has approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi Bench, seeking commencement of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against WinZO over alleged unpaid operational dues amounting to ₹1.59 crore for digital advertising campaigns, user acquisition, app installs and growth-related services. The matter came up before a Bench comprising Judicial Member Justice Jyotsna Sharma and Technical Member Ravindra Chaturvedi. However, the petition could not be taken up for substantive hearing on Tuesday as the petitioner sought time to carry out corrections in an affidavit.
According to the petition, WinZO has been availing Arve’s services since September 2019 for boosting platform visibility, securing user sign-ups and driving digital growth across multiple channels. Over a span of six years, Arve Digital Media issued 65 invoices, of which 61 were paid, while four invoices—raised between July and September 2025—remain unpaid, triggering the default. Though the total outstanding operational debt allegedly stands at ₹2.87 crore, the petition restricts the present claim to ₹1.59 crore as the amount presently in default.
To ensure transparency in billing, the operational creditor tracked installs through third-party tracking tools such as Appsflyer and shared performance dashboards with WinZO. The petition states that WinZO compared the tracker data with its internal CRM tracking before approving invoices. Daily CRM reports were also exchanged to avoid discrepancies.
Arve Digital Media issued a demand notice under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) on 17 September 2025. WinZO replied on 30 September 2025, disputing the amounts on grounds of alleged fraud and “inaccurate billing.” The petitioner has termed these allegations a “moonshine dispute,” asserting that all invoices in question had already been reconciled and validated by WinZO prior to approval.
The petition also records that before issuance of the demand notice, WinZO had acknowledged its outstanding liability and instead sought a waiver on the ground that the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, had banned real-money gaming applications. Arve claims it rejected the request for a waiver but offered a ₹2.5-lakh concession against future invoices, while consistently pursuing release of payments due for May and June 2025.
The filing by Arve Digital Media follows close on the heels of Paytm’s insolvency petition against WinZO, where nearly ₹3.6 crore was claimed for unpaid advertising dues. In that matter, the NCLT has issued notice to WinZO and granted two weeks’ time to file a reply, with the case now listed for further hearing on December 15. Although WinZO did not dispute that the advertisements were published, it argued that certain invoices were pending internal validation. Paytm countered that at least one invoice had been fully validated and no objections had been raised at the time of execution. In the Paytm case, the Tribunal directed WinZO to file its written response with supporting material within a “reasonable period.” The outcome of that matter, as well as the newly-initiated insolvency plea by Arve Digital Media, is likely to be closely monitored across the digital advertising and online gaming sectors.
Cause Title: Arve Digital Media Private Limited vs. Winzo Games Private Limited
Case No: IB-605/ND/2025
Coram: Judicial Member Justice Jyotsna Sharma , Technical Member Ravindra Chaturvedi
