Published Sep 27, 2026 | 7:28 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 27, 2026 | 7:28 PM
Users who had stopped playing after suffering heavy losses were also targeted through instant cash credits, promotional offers, push notifications.
Synopsis: The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached properties worth about ₹442 crore in its money-laundering investigation into RummyCulture and associated entities based on multiple FIRs registered in Telangana. The agency has alleged that the companies used bots against users, imposed restrictions on withdrawals and promotional incentives to encourage repeated wagering, and earned proceeds through platform commissions
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth approximately ₹442.35 crore in its money-laundering investigation into the RummyCulture app and associated entities.
The Bengaluru Zonal Office issued the provisional attachment order on 25 September under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The properties include fixed-deposit balances, commercial shops, a villa and several residential properties held in the names of family members, private family trusts and various associated entities of shareholders of Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The attachment takes the total value of proceeds of crime attached, frozen and seized in the case to about ₹2,843 crore.
The ED began its PMLA investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered in Telangana for cheating offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The offences are scheduled offences under the PMLA, the agency said.
The probe concerns Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and RummyTime Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which operated online real-money games, particularly rummy games and tournaments, through mobile applications under brands including RummyCulture, RummyPrime, Playship and RummyTime.
The platforms had about three crore users across India. A significant number of users were in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where online real-money gaming has been banned, according to the ED.
The companies earned substantial revenues by charging platform commissions of 10 percent to 15 percent on amounts deposited by users for staking or wagering, the agency said.
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The ED said its investigation found that the companies assured users that their platforms were transparent and fair and did not use automated players, while deploying bots against users without their knowledge or consent.
According to the agency, these automated programmes and algorithms caused substantial financial losses to users while generating proceeds of crime for the companies.
The investigation also found that the companies spent about ₹1,035 crore on marketing and promotional campaigns to acquire users. New users were offered bonuses, referral incentives, free tournament entries and promotional rewards to encourage continued gameplay and larger deposits.
The companies also allegedly imposed restrictions on withdrawals, including a levy of 5 percent to 10 percent in some cases. Users were encouraged through “Super Booster” offers to convert withdrawable balances into non-withdrawable “Game Cash”, the ED said.
Users who had stopped playing after suffering heavy losses were also targeted through instant cash credits, promotional offers, push notifications, SMS campaigns and telemarketing calls to induce them to resume playing.
The ED said these practices encouraged repeated wagering and enabled the companies to generate proceeds of crime through platform commissions.
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The agency said the proceeds generated through these activities were subsequently layered and integrated through dividends and share buy-backs paid to shareholders.
The proceeds were also invested in mutual funds, bonds, convertible notes, equity shares, movable assets and high-value immovable properties. Some of these assets were held through family trusts and associated entities, the ED said, and were used to project the proceeds as untainted property.
Before the latest attachment, the ED had frozen movable assets worth approximately ₹495 crore under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA. It had also seized ₹11 lakh in cash and gold and diamond jewellery, including approximately 2.30 kg of bullion.
A separate provisional attachment order had earlier covered properties worth approximately ₹1,906 crore.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
