WinZO under ED Lens: ₹505 Crore Frozen, Offshore Diversions Suspected
Moneylife Digital Team 25 November 2025
The directorate of enforcement (ED) has frozen around ₹505 crore belonging to WinZO Games Pvt Ltd after conducting search operations across four locations in Delhi and Gurgaon between 18th November and 22 November 2025. The action was taken under Section 17(1A) of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the agency says in a statement. The searches resulted in the freezing of proceeds of crime in the form of bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds and bonds held by the company which operates the online real-money gaming app WinZO.
 
The investigation was initiated based on first information reports (FIRs) filed against WinZO Games and others for alleged cheating, blocking of user accounts, impersonation, misuse of PAN details and fraudulent use of know-your-customer (KYC) information. Complainants claimed they suffered financial losses due to these activities, prompting the ED to examine the company’s operations.
 
According to the agency, WinZO continued to run real-money games in foreign markets, such as Brazil, US and Germany, from India, using the same platform as the domestic app. This allegedly continued even after the Union government banned real-money gaming, effective from 22 August 2025. ED noted that around ₹43 crore belonging to customers remains unrefunded, despite the ban being in force.
 
The probe also found that customers were allegedly made to play against algorithms and software without being informed that they were not competing with real human players. The agency says this manipulation allowed the company to generate proceeds of crime from bets placed and lost by genuine users, while also restricting or delaying withdrawals from customer wallets held by WinZO Games.
 
Investigators further claimed that the company diverted funds abroad under the guise of overseas investments. About U$55mn (million) or around ₹489.90 crore was allegedly parked in a US-based shell entity named WinZO US Inc, even though ED says all operations, bank account management and day-to-day decisions were controlled from India. The agency’s findings also indicate that both domestic and international gaming operations, including real-money games, were hosted on a single app and managed from India.
 
ED says further investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the alleged money laundering, diversion of funds and fraudulent activities linked to the online gaming platform.
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