New Delhi, January 19, 2026, 15:48 IST
- India’s Enforcement Directorate filed a money-laundering prosecution complaint against Magicwin and others, naming 14 accused.
- The agency linked the case to alleged piracy of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 broadcasts and said the platform ran betting and live casino games.
- Investigators are also looking at celebrity and influencer promotions tied to the platform.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint under the country’s anti-money laundering law against online betting platform Magicwin and others, alleging the operation was run by a UK-registered firm with Pakistani directors based in the United Arab Emirates. The complaint names 14 individuals and entities, the agency said.
The filing lands as New Delhi tightens the net around real-money online games and the advertising that helps them scale, while officials also flag cross-border payment channels as a vulnerability. A senior Board of Control for Cricket in India official, Devajit Saikia, said last year the board “will not violate any of the laws enforced in the country,” after sponsors began reassessing deals under the new regime. (Reuters)
Gaming companies have already started shutting down or pausing real-money offerings, including PokerBaazi, Dream11 and My11Circle, after parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. Nazara Technologies’ joint managing director and CEO Nitish Mittersain warned in an interview that it was “speculative now” and the investment “could potentially be at risk.” (The Economic Times)
The ED said the prosecution complaint — the equivalent of a charge sheet — was filed on January 15 in a special court in Ahmedabad under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a 2002 law used to probe and prosecute alleged laundering of criminal proceeds. (The Times of India)
The agency traced the case to an Ahmedabad cyber crime police first information report that accused the portal of unauthorised hosting, streaming and broadcasting of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 matches. The tournament’s rights had been granted by the International Cricket Council to Star India Private Limited, the ED said. (The Economic Times)
Investigators allege Magicwin operated as a betting exchange through a website and mobile app, offering sports betting and live casino games including baccarat, teen patti, roulette, poker and blackjack. The ED said deposits and withdrawals were routed through “mule” bank accounts and, in some cases, through domestic money transfer services, with funds also diverted through hawala and cryptocurrencies. (The Indian Express)
Hawala is an informal value-transfer system that can move money without using regulated banking rails. “Mule” accounts are bank accounts opened or controlled by intermediaries to move funds on behalf of others, often to break up transactions and blur the trail.
Storyboard18 reported that officials estimate suspicious betting transactions linked to the case at more than 1,000 crore rupees, citing people familiar with the matter, and that the ED has carried out 67 searches across multiple states over the last six months. The report also said the agency has questioned actors Mallika Sherawat and Pooja Banerjee over endorsements and summoned more celebrities and influencers as it examines whether promotions helped facilitate proceeds of crime. (Storyboard18)
A key uncertainty is how quickly investigators can secure evidence and enforcement across jurisdictions, given the alleged offshore links and the use of crypto wallets and informal transfer routes. The case will also test how courts handle a mix of piracy allegations, betting offences and money-laundering charges built on digital payment trails.
The ED has said the investigation is ongoing, as authorities continue to pursue alleged proceeds linked to online betting platforms that operate outside India’s rules. (Devdiscourse)
