The Enforcement Directorate has delivered its most significant blow yet to online rummy platform Gameskraft. The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth ₹1,906 crore of online gaming company Gameskraft, alleging that the platform created an “addictive” gaming environment that encouraged “repeated wagering” for the players. The provisional attachment was made on July 22, 2026 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, making it one of the largest single attachment actions the ED has taken against any online gaming company in India.
Following the latest action, the total value of assets attached, seized or frozen in the case has reached ₹2,401 crore. The scale of the crackdown signals that the ED’s investigation into Gameskraft has moved well beyond preliminary inquiries and is now at an advanced stage of prosecution preparation.
“ED provisionally attaches assets worth Rs 1,906 crore linked to Gameskraft Technologies in a money laundering case involving online rummy games — RummyCulture, RummyPrime, Playship and RummyTime. Total attachments in the case now cross Rs 2,401 crore.”~PTI News
What Was Attached: Properties, FDs, Mutual Funds, And A Farmhouse
The provisionally attached assets include bank and fixed deposits, mutual funds, convertible notes, equity shares, a farmhouse, and multiple residential and commercial immovable properties held in the names of the shareholders of Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., their family members, private family trusts and associated entities.
The attachment’s scope, which includes not only the company’s own bank accounts but also the private assets of shareholders, their families, and trust structures, shows that the ED has identified a complex financial network surrounding the main business. When investigators suspect that proceeds of crime have been distributed among related parties to complicate recovery, a common PMLA tactic is to attach assets owned by family trusts and family members.
The attachment was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 22 in the case related to the RummyCulture, RummyPrime, Playship and RummyTime apps. These four apps collectively served one of the largest online rummy user bases in India predominantly in southern states.
“ED Attaches Rs 1,906 Crore Assets of Gameskraft in Online Gaming Probe — Attached assets include FDs, mutual funds, equity shares, farmhouse and commercial properties. ED alleges Gameskraft created addictive gaming environment encouraging repeated wagering.”~Outlook India
Bots, Deceptive Practices, And 3 Crore Users: What The ED Alleges
The ED said Gameskraft and RummyTime Technologies were engaged in operating online Real Money Games (RMGs) through the said apps and they had a user base of around 3 crore players primarily in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The ED’s accusations go beyond straightforward gambling infractions to include particular allegations regarding the platform’s user manipulation. The agency said that Gameskraft used bots, which are automated accounts created to mimic real players, to change game outcomes in ways that disadvantaged paying users, boost the platform’s apparent activity, and give users false confidence that they were playing against genuine opponents. Beyond the money laundering accusations, this bot usage allegation would represent a serious consumer fraud if proven true.
The ED further alleged that the platform used withdrawal restriction tactics making it difficult for users to recover their money once deposited and engaged in targeted user outreach to bring back players who had stopped gaming, exploiting behavioural addiction patterns to maximise deposits from vulnerable users. The cumulative effect, the agency argues, was a systematic scheme to extract money from users through deceptive practices while using corporate structures to distance the proceeds from their true origin.
“ED provisionally attaches assets worth Rs 1,906 crore linked to Gameskraft Technologies in online gaming money laundering probe. Agency alleges use of bots, deceptive withdrawal rules, and addictive design to exploit 3 crore users in Telangana, AP and Tamil Nadu.”~Deccan Herald
A Case That Traces Back To A GST Dispute And Why The Stakes Are So High For The Industry:
The Gameskraft case has a history that predates the current ED action. The company was at the centre of one of the largest GST demand notices ever issued in India, a ₹21,000 crore tax demand from the GST authorities that triggered a Supreme Court intervention and became the defining legal question about whether online rummy constitutes a game of skill or gambling under Indian law. That constitutional question has implications for the entire online gaming industry.
The ED’s current money laundering inquiry is technically independent from the GST dispute, as it focuses on PMLA crimes rather than tax liability. However, they are linked by the same underlying conduct: the ED’s PMLA case is based on the notion that the proceeds earned by Gameskraft’s allegedly misleading RMG operations are proceeds of crime, which flow into the financial instruments and assets that have now been attached.
The timing of the ₹1,906 crore attachment also sends a message to the broader online real money gaming sector in India, which has been navigating a complex regulatory environment since the introduction of GST on online gaming at 28% and ongoing debates about the legal framework for skill gaming versus gambling. For Gameskraft specifically, with total attachments now at ₹2,401 crore, the road ahead is one of the most challenging legal and financial situations any Indian gaming company has faced.
