ED attaches Rs 1,906 crore assets in Gameskraft money laundering probe

MUMBAI: The stakes just got a lot higher and this time, it isn’t the players placing the bets. The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth around Rs 1,906 crore in an alleged money laundering case involving Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., RummyTime Technologies and related entities, marking one of the biggest enforcement actions in India’s online real-money gaming sector.

The attachment, carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, follows a provisional attachment order dated 22 July 2026.

According to the ED, the attached assets include bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds, convertible notes, equity shares, a farmhouse, and several residential and commercial properties. The properties are held by Gameskraft Technologies, its shareholders, their family members, private family trusts and other associated entities.

The investigation stems from multiple FIRs registered in Telangana, alleging cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, offences that qualify as scheduled offences under the PMLA. The agency had earlier conducted searches at the company’s offices and the residences of its directors and key employees in May and June 2026, seizing documents, digital devices and electronic records.

The probe centres on Gameskraft Technologies and RummyTime Technologies, which allegedly operated online real-money rummy platforms under brands including RummyCulture, RummyPrime, Playship and RummyTime.

According to the ED, the platforms catered to an estimated three crore users across India, including a significant number from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where online real-money gaming has been prohibited.

The agency alleged that the companies generated revenue by charging platform commissions ranging from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on users’ staking amounts. It further claimed that the platforms deployed automated bots in games despite assuring users that gameplay was fair and free from such intervention, allegedly causing financial losses to players while generating proceeds of crime for the companies.

The investigation has also scrutinised the companies’ customer acquisition and retention practices. The ED alleged that nearly Rs 1,035 crore was spent on promotional campaigns, bonuses, referral incentives and free tournament entries to attract users.

It further claimed that players were discouraged from withdrawing funds through withdrawal charges in certain cases and promotional schemes that converted withdrawable balances into non-withdrawable “Game Cash”. According to the agency, users who had stopped playing after incurring losses were encouraged to return through cash credits, promotional messages, SMS campaigns and telemarketing calls.

The ED alleged that the proceeds generated through these activities were subsequently routed through dividend payouts and share buybacks before being invested in financial instruments and high-value movable and immovable assets in an attempt to conceal the origin of the funds and project them as legitimate investments.

During earlier searches, the agency had frozen movable assets worth around Rs 495 crore and seized Rs 11 lakh in cash, along with approximately 2.3 kg of gold, diamond jewellery and bullion.

With the latest attachment, the total value of assets attached, frozen and seized in the investigation has reached around Rs 2,401 crore, making it one of the most significant financial investigations involving India’s online gaming industry.

The investigation is continuing, and the ED’s allegations are yet to be tested before the appropriate judicial forum.