The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint before a special court in Bengaluru against online gaming platform Winzo, its directors, and others, alleging that Rs 3,522 crore was siphoned off over a period of less than four years, the Indian Express reported on Friday.
The complaint follows an investigation initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Bengaluru CEN police station and police authorities in Rajasthan, New Delhi, and Gurugram, according to the report.
Raids, seizures and scale of alleged fraud
As part of the probe, the ED conducted searches between November 18 and December 30 last year at Winzo’s office, the residences of its directors, and other locations, seizing assets worth Rs 690 crore, the Indian Express said.
Winzo operates in the real money gaming (RMG) segment through its mobile application and offers over 100 number-based games. The company claims a user base of about 25 crore users, largely from Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities. It earns revenue by charging a commission on users’ betting amounts and had assured users that its platform was “free from any BOTs and transparent and secure,” the ED said in a statement quoted by the Indian Express.
Alleged use of bots and manipulation of games
The investigation, however, found that most of Winzo’s RMGs were manipulated, according to the Indian Express.
Analysis of game codebases, third-party developer agreements, and internal communications revealed that until December 2023, the games were embedded with bots, AI, and algorithmic profiles. Between May 2024 and August 2025, the company allegedly shifted to a new method by simulating historical match-play data of dormant or inactive players and pitting these profiles against real users without their knowledge or consent.
To conceal these practices, the company referred to bots and simulated players using misleading internal terms such as EP (Engagement Play), PPP (Past Performance of Player), and Persona, the ED said, as reported by the Indian Express.
Users allegedly lured, then systematically made to lose
The ED further alleged that users were initially attracted with small bonuses and made to win against easy bots, and were even allowed to withdraw small winnings to build trust.
Once users began playing at higher stake levels, “Winning/Hard BOTs” were systematically deployed, resulting in substantial financial losses to genuine users. Evidence gathered showed that real users lost Rs 734 crore to bot profiles, the Indian Express reported.
In addition, even legitimate winnings at higher stakes were often blocked through restrictive withdrawal mechanisms, according to the agency.
Withheld winnings and ‘proceeds of crime’
The investigation also found that Winzo failed to return legitimate user winnings and deposits amounting to Rs 47.66 crore, even after the Union government banned RMGs, the Indian Express stated.
Based on these findings, the ED has estimated that the company generated “proceeds of crime” totalling Rs 3,522.05 crore between FY22 and FY26 (as on 22 August last year), the Indian Express reported.
Money laundering through overseas shell companies
The ED further alleged that the proceeds of crime were laundered through shell companies created in the US and Singapore.
Around $55 million was transferred to foreign bank accounts held in the names of these shell entities under the guise of overseas direct investment (ODI). An additional Rs 230 crore was diverted to another accused subsidiary company as purported “loans from holding company,” without any legitimate business rationale, the Indian Express reported.
Attempts were also made to divert another Rs 150 crore via the ODI route, but these did not materialise due to the non-submission of mandatory audit and utilisation certificates, the Indian Express said.