The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Gurugram Zonal Office has attached Rs 117.41 crore worth of assets belonging to Probo Media Technologies and the family members of its directors, escalating its money-laundering probe into the prediction-market platform. The attachment covers a mix of movable and immovable assets, including fixed deposits, investments in shares, demand drafts, bank balances held in the company’s name, as well as apartments owned by relatives of Probo’s directors. Notably, this action forms part of a wider series of ED investigations into online-gaming companies following the government’s ban on real money gaming (RMG) under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA) earlier this year. The law prohibits games that involve staking money and wagers and brought an immediate halt to the operations of many platforms , including Probo. Why Is the ED Investigating Probo? ED’s investigation into Probo began after multiple FIRs were registered in Gurugram, Palwal (Haryana) and Agra (Uttar Pradesh) under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Public Gambling Act. Complainants alleged that the company cheated them by presenting a scheme to earn money through simple “yes or no” questions, while in reality promoting gambling under the guise of skill-based gaming. These FIRs formed the legal basis for ED to open a money-laundering probe. From there, the agency says its inquiry revealed a broader pattern of deception. Investigators found that Probo falsely projected itself as a skill-gaming platform but actually operated a gambling service, enabling it to defraud users and generate what ED calls “proceeds of crime” amounting to roughly Rs 1,245.64 crore. Because these activities stemmed from scheduled offences attributed to the company’s directors and promoters, ED argues that they fall squarely within its remit under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Additionally, during July 2025 search operations, the agency froze Rs 284.5 crore in fixed deposits and shares linked to the company, after tracing financial movements consistent with money laundering. ED Action Against RMG Companies Since the government’s RMG crackdown, the ED has widened its net, repeatedly targeting platforms it suspects of converting gaming into illicit betting and money laundering proceeds. In November, the ED raided offices linked to WinZO, Pocket52, and Gameskraft , seizing devices and data and probing allegations that app algorithms were manipulated to rig outcomes, while also tracing suspected crypto and cross-border flows. Similarly, investigators moved against GamesKraft after they allegedly parked customer funds in escrow accounts to the tune of Rs 30 crore; the ED froze several of these accounts and flagged Rs 18.57 crore as suspected proceeds held by Pocket52 and GamesKraft. Advertisements Moreover, the ED’s Mumbai office attached roughly Rs 307 crore in assets in a separate FairPlay betting probe, indicating the agency will pursue both operator coffers and associated financial networks. Taken together, these probes illustrate a pattern: regulators aim to dismantle the financial plumbing that sustained RMG, even as legal battles and industry pivots continue. Crucially, the government has defended the RMG ban as necessary to curb social and money-laundering risks, a rationale that underpins much of the ED’s recent activity. Why This Matters The ED’s attachment of Probo’s assets matters because it underscores how enforcement has become the primary mechanism through which the government is now policing the real-money gaming ecosystem after PROGA effectively banned the sector. With operations halted across most platforms, the focus has shifted from regulatory compliance to forensic scrutiny of past business practices, fund flows and user-handling mechanisms. Moreover, ED actions, from searches to asset freezes, are setting benchmarks for how authorities trace alleged proceeds of crime linked to pre-ban activity. These outcomes will shape how authorities assess legacy liabilities, how companies wind down or pivot, and how financial institutions handle historical transactions tied to the sector. In addition, the scale and frequency of such investigations signal that enforcement will remain central to the government’s approach as it works to close out pending cases and address consumer complaints arising from the period before PROGA came into force. Also Read RTI: MeitY Has No Information on Stakeholder Consultations on Online Gaming Authority Will Karnataka’s Horse-Racing Betting Bill Set Off A Clash With Centre’s Online Gaming Ban? Video: Navigating India’s Online Gaming Law, September 19
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ED Attaches Over Rs 117 Cr Properties in Money Laundering Case Against Opinion Trading Firm Probo
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