ED Says Gameskraft Used BOTs To Drain Users’ Money

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has escalated its crackdown on India’s real-money gaming sector.

The agency on Wednesday said it has frozen and seized assets worth over Rs 526 crore in its money laundering investigation against Bengaluru-based gaming platform Gameskraft Technologies.

But the bigger allegation is this:

According to the ED, Gameskraft allegedly caused user losses worth more than Rs 1,154 crore through manipulated gaming structures and BOT-driven gameplay.

The searches were conducted between May 7 and May 13 across offices and residences linked to the company’s founders and senior employees in Bengaluru and NCR.

The agency said it froze bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds and bonds worth Rs 526.49 crore. It also seized jewellery worth Rs 3.5 crore and cash of Rs 11 lakh.

This comes just days after the ED arrested Gameskraft co-founders Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh and Vikas Taneja under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to the agency, the probe originates from multiple FIRs filed across states alleging cheating and unlawful gains through the company’s gaming platforms.

The ED alleged that Gameskraft operated several real-money gaming apps including RummyCulture, RummyPrime, Playship, RummyTime and RummyCorner.

One of the most serious allegations in the case revolves around the use of BOT accounts.

The agency claimed users were initially allowed to win and withdraw small amounts to build trust on the platform.

But once users started playing at higher stakes, they were allegedly matched against automated BOT IDs designed to influence outcomes.

“The genuine users were lost to BOT user IDs,” the ED said in its official statement.

The agency further alleged that Gameskraft continued operating in states where real-money gaming is restricted by allegedly tampering with users’ geo-location data.

According to investigators, proceeds generated through these operations were later routed into foreign entities, dividend payouts, investments, and other assets.

The investigation is still underway.

The case now adds to the growing regulatory pressure on India’s online gaming industry, which has already been battling GST disputes, betting-related scrutiny, and tightening compliance oversight over the last two years.