The Enforcement Directorate has moved against real money gaming companies in India. It conducted raids at the offices and residences of Winzo and Gamescraft promoters in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Gurugram. Raids were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Bank deposits totaling Rs. 523 crore were frozen during this operation.
Recently, the government banned all online money games under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. ED alleged that Winzo and Gamescraft retained money from players and did not return it.
The ED said that games on the Winzo platform were operated through algorithms and software, instead of being played against real human opponents. Customers were not told about this. It found Winzo to be operating real money games in countries including Brazil, the United States, and Germany, while being headquartered in India. The agency said Rs. 43 crore of gamers money is still held by Winzo. Deposits worth Rs. 505 crore, allegedly amassed in illegal ways were frozen.
ED has also investigated Gamescraft, which runs Pocket52.com, stating that the company is holding more than Rs. 30 crore of customers' funds. ED has frozen Rs. 18.57 crore belonging to Gamescraft.
According to the ED, Winzo restricted customer withdrawals from their wallets. The agency claimed that Winzo misled customers by using algorithms in order to simulate losses in betting. It reported that the money was transferred to the US and Singapore as part of foreign investments. The ED stated that deposits worth $ 55 million-about Rs. 490 crore--were made in a US bank.
To this, Winzo said it is fully cooperating with the investigation conducted by the ED.
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