Probo was a very popular app in India. It let users win or lose real money by guessing the answers to simple yes or no questions about the future. But, Probo had to stop this business as it got into big legal trouble.
The Indian government, local state police and financial officers used new laws to put a huge ban on the app. They said Probo’s system looked too much like illegal gambling.
The New Online Gaming Law (2025)
This was the main law that stopped Probo. The Indian Parliament passed a strict new rule in 2025 which banned all online apps completely where people play or trade with real money. Before this, apps argued that they were games of skill.
They said users only need to do smart research to win. But the new law did not care about skill and it banned all real money games in India. Due to this law, Probo needed to stop its main business. Thus, they asked all users to take out their money from Probo account.
State Anti-Gambling Laws
Even before the main national law, different states in India targeted Probo using local rules for the game.
- Chhattisgarh: This state used its 2022 Gambling Act against Probo. Police registered cases and the court ordered internet providers to block the app.
- Tamil Nadu: State officers said that yes or no predictions look simply like gambling. They sent warning notices to Probo thus it need to block all users from Tamil Nadu.
- Haryana: Probo’s office was in Haryana. When Haryana passed a strict local anti-gambling law in 2025, the app could no longer run smoothly from its home base.
Money Laundering Rules (PMLA)
A powerful government agency called the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigated about Probo. They used a strict law from 2002 which is known as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED raided Probo’s offices and froze more than ₹284 crore of the company’s money.
The officers said that Probo was hiding real betting under the name of opinion trading. They also found that Probo did not check user IDs properly. This lack of checking allowed kids to put money into the app.
They also questioned where the app got its funding from outside India. You can watch this news report on the Online Gaming Bill: Game Over For Real-Money Games for more details on the actual law that banned these apps. It shows how the government decided to stop platforms like Probo.