Betting website in garb of gaming platform, owned by Pak nationals: Ahmedabad ED

During the course of search operations, bank funds to the tune of Rs 30 lakh were frozen while various other incriminating documents and digital devices were seized.

The investigation, initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by Cyber Crime police station in Ahmedabad, revealed that Magicwin is a betting website disguised as a gaming platform, which is owned by Pakistan nationals, according to the statement.

The operations of this website is mostly handled by Indian nationals working in or settled in Dubai.

It was also revealed that the betting games shown on the website were originally played in The Philippines and other countries, which allow betting activities, and were re-telecasted on the Magicwin website by copying the APIs (Application Programming Interface) of the original games.

The betting activities with regard to deposits, placing of bets, and withdrawal are controlled by the owners of Magicwin, according to the statement.

The statement from the ED said that during the investigation, it found that money deposited in the bank accounts by the players and reflected on the Magicwin website were diverted through various layers of shell/mule bank accounts and further, the profit part of the owners was invested in crypto assets or withdrawn in cash or sent to Dubai through Hawala channels.

Further, the winning amounts of the players/bettors are transferred to their respective bank accounts through merchant accounts of various shell companies maintained with the payment gateways/Aggregators, it said. The winning amounts are also transferred to the player’s bank account through Domestic Money Transfer (DMT).

It was also revealed during the investigation that Magicwin had hosted a launch party in India, which was attended by several Bollywood celebrities who were seen endorsing the website.

These celebrities also did video and photo-shoots for the advertisement of Magicwin and posted the same on their social media accounts, according to the statement.

Advertisements were also done through hoardings in various parts of India including Gujarat and Maharashtra. Investigation revealed that the profits generated by the betting website were more than 50% of the total deposits made by the players.

The ED Ahmedabad has conducted 68 searches till date in this case and seized various incriminating documents and digital devices. Total seizure, including funds frozen in bank accounts, stands at Rs 3.55 crore.