ED seizes Rs 523 crore in investigation into WinZO and Gameskraft

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen deposits worth about Rs 523 crore belonging to online gaming platforms WinZO and Gameskraft as part of its money laundering investigation into the companies and their parent entities. The agency said the funds were held instead of being refunded to users after India introduced a ban on real-money gaming in August this year.

According to the ED, searches were conducted between November 18 and 22 across Delhi, Bengaluru and Gurugram. The probe covers Nirdesa Networks (NNPL), Gameskraft Technologies (GTPL), WinZO Games , and their promoters, all of which operated real-money gaming services.

The agency accused WinZO of “engaging in criminal activities and unscrupulous practices as customers were made to play with algorithms without being made aware of the fact that they are playing with the software and not with humans in real-money games”.

A WinZO spokesperson said in a statement that the company was “cooperating fully with the investigating agency and will continue to support the process”.

The ED stated that WinZO continued to operate real-money games for users in Brazil, the US and Germany through the same India-based platform. The agency added that “even after the ban of RMGs by the Union government , an amount of Rs 43 crore is still held by the company without refunding to the gamers/customers”.

The ED said it froze alleged proceeds of crime worth about Rs 505 crore held by WinZO Games under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. These deposits were kept in bank accounts in the form of bonds, fixed deposits and mutual funds.

In its statement, WinZO said, “Fairness and transparency are core to how WinZO designs and operates its platform. Our focus remains on protecting our users and ensuring a secure, trustworthy experience,” adding that the company remains compliant with applicable laws.

The agency levelled similar allegations against Gameskraft, which operated the Pocket52.com platform. The ED said more than Rs 30 crore remained in the company’s escrow accounts without being returned to users after the ban introduced through the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

Eight bank accounts holding Rs 18.57 crore have been frozen in the investigation into Gameskraft. The ED alleged that these funds constituted proceeds of crime parked by NNPL, Pocket52 and related entities.

The agency further stated that WinZO restricted or limited users’ withdrawal of wallet balances and generated illicit funds through bets placed and lost by customers via “unscrupulous” use of software.

The ED said it also found that WinZO’s global operations were hosted on a single app run from India and that funds were diverted overseas to the US and Singapore under the pretext of investments.

It alleged that “funds worth USD 55 million (about Rs 489.90 crore) have been parked in their (WinZO) bank account in the US, which is a shell company since all the operations and day-to-day business activities and operation of bank accounts were done from India”.