The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) raided three on-line gaming corporations in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Gurugram between November 18 and 22, and froze accounts with over ₹523 crore.
Following raids on WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd. that operated real-money gaming providers by way of the WinZO app, the ED froze ₹505 crore value of suspected proceeds of crime, together with financial institution balances, bonds, fastened deposits, and mutual funds, beneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED stated that it discovered that the WinZO continued working real-money video games in overseas markets such because the U.S., Brazil, and Germany, utilizing the identical platform as India- even after the nationwide ban on RMGs took impact on August 22, 2025. The firm reportedly held ₹43 crore belonging to gamers with out refunding.
The probe additional revealed that the WinZO allowed prospects to unknowingly play towards laptop algorithms slightly than actual gamers, whereas additionally proscribing withdrawals, the ED stated. The ED alleges that the corporate earned proceeds of crime by exploiting customers by way of these practices.
A probe has uncovered diversion of Indian funds to abroad entities. Around ₹489.90 crore was traced to a U.S. checking account operated beneath the WinZO U.S. Inc., which officers described as a shell firm managed from India.
In one other case, following raids on premises linked to Nirdesa Networks Pvt. Ltd. (NNPL), Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (GTPL), the ED froze eight escrow financial institution accounts holding roughly ₹18.57 crore, suspected to be proceeds of crime.
The ED initiated the probe based mostly on an FIR filed by the Karnataka Police alleging large-scale fraud by the Pocket52, a web-based gaming platform operated by the NNPL. The grievance accused the platform of manipulating recreation outcomes, participant collusion, technical glitches, proscribing withdrawals, and suppressing transparency options like hand historical past.
One complainant reported shedding over ₹3 crore, claiming systematic dishonest and irresponsible gaming practices.
During the PMLA investigation, the ED claimed to have discovered quite a few person complaints pointing to manipulation and exploitation by the platform. The officers seized cellphones, laptops, and different digital units from the administrators and founders, together with voluminous knowledge backups from the GTPL. Despite the ban on real-money video games beneath the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, 2025, enforced on August 22, 2025, the corporate reportedly retained over ₹30 crore in escrow accounts with out refunding gamers, the ED alleged.