iGaming fraud is on the rise, with reported cases up more than 60% in 2024 alone.
This surge has left both players and gaming sites facing significant challenges. From sophisticated deepfakes to password theft and bonus abuse, fraudsters’ evolving tactics are more cunning than ever.
But it’s not all bad news – there are ways to protect yourself and minimize your risk.
In this article, we’ll explore the most common types of iGaming fraud, the latest security tech, and practical tips for staying safe while gaming online.
Most Common Types of iGaming Fraud in 2024
When it comes to online gaming fraud, there are two main victims: the betting sites and the players themselves. These can be used to categorize the most common types of fraud currently in existence.
iGaming Fraud Against the Player
A recent study by Sumsub shows that iGaming fraud surged by 60% in 2024. This is a huge number, showing that players are more in danger than ever before.
With this, players can lose money and personal information. So, it’s important to recognize the different forms of this fraud in order to protect yourself. Here are some of the most common types of iGaming player fraud recently.
Deepfakes
As we found, cases of deepfake gambling fraud increased by 10x between 2022 and 2023. Deepfaking is when AI and other modern tech are used to steal a player’s identity, and the fact that this is on the rise so substantially is certainly a cause for concern for players and gambling companies alike.
Document Fraud
One of the more conventional ways for fraudsters to steal a player’s information in the iGaming industry is to replicate their ID documents. This requires a very high level of skill, so it is very difficult to do, but it has been known to happen in the world of iGaming fraud.
Document Theft
Throughout 2024, there have been countless cases of people having their ID stolen and used to create or log into iGaming accounts. This could be the result of a physical theft of a document or the illicit gaining of access to a player’s files.
The fraudsters can then use the ID to reach out to the customer support teams of the online casinos and sportsbooks to gain access to players’ accounts.
Selfie Mismatch
Another type of verification fraud often associated with document theft or fraudulent copying is the selfie mismatch. The Sumsub report found this to be the most common form of verification fraud in 2024.
This type of fraud involves editing or staging a selfie to make it look like the person who owns the account to which the fraudsters are attempting to gain access.
This results in a false positive from the casino or sports betting site, and as a result, the hackers can gain access to the account.
Password Theft
A classic way of gaining access to a gambler’s account is simply to steal their password.
All the top online gambling security tools out there will be made useless if users are careless about where they store their passwords. That’s why it’s never recommended to write your password down.
Another way for fraudsters to steal passwords is by getting access to players’ email accounts or phone numbers. The email addresses and phone numbers can be used to reset online casino passwords with a code or a link.
iGaming Fraud Against the Gambling Sites
There’s also a lot of fraud targeting online gambling sites themselves. That might not seem like a problem for players, but if the sites are losing too much money, then players may not get as strong bonuses, etc. These types of gambling site fraud have been prominent in 2024 so far.
Bonus Abuse
The single most damaging type of fraud to iGaming companies is the abuse of bonuses. This is when a fraudster will create multiple accounts in order to grab welcome bonuses and other casino or sports betting promotions over and over again.
Players have managed to do this in several ways, including document fraud and theft, IP address fraud, fingerprint hacking on devices, and more. As a result, many iGaming companies have lost extraordinary amounts of money.
Interestingly, the Sumsub report found that bonus abuse accounted for 69.9% of iGaming fraud in the first quarter of 2024. In a sense, that’s good news for players as they will not be directly affected by this type of fraud in the same way that, for example, theft would.
Chargeback
It’s pretty common for fraudsters to attempt to reimburse themselves for their deposits by initiating a chargeback to their credit card. Sometimes, they can be successful in this, which causes real problems for the iGaming companies and the credit card providers.
5.6% of fraud cases in Q1 of 2024 were related to chargebacks.
Money Laundering
There are countless measures in place to stop people from using iGaming sites to launder money, but these are not always 100% effective.
To this day, there is still a lot of money laundering in the industry. Sumsub found that money laundering accounted for a massive 9.9% of fraud cases in Q1 of 2024.
Money muling is the most common type of money laundering. This involves criminals moving money through the accounts of regular players, often unbeknownst to them. The mules themselves can end up with serious fines and even prison sentences, so it’s a real problem for players and iGaming companies alike.
Payment System Fraud
There are many complicated cases of fraud involving payment systems at the moment. In fact, the report found that payment systems were involved in 5.9% of fraud cases. iGaming sites cannot do much about this, as the responsibility tends to lie with the payment companies themselves, such as Visa or Skrill.
A move into the world of crypto banking does seem to be slowing this down. The blockchain is harder for hackers to get into, and this improves security.
Affiliate Fraud
Fraud in affiliate marketing generates fake clicks for affiliate gambling links, which earns the affiliate marketing brand more commission than it should be entitled to.
According to Sumsub, a few techniques can cause this. These include URL hijacking, hidden landing pages, and cookie stuffing. At the end of the day, this can cause serious and unjustified financial losses to the online casinos and sports betting sites partnered with these affiliate marketers.
Where iGaming Fraud is Most Prominent
Sumsub reports that Bangladesh was the country with the most common cases of fraud in the iGaming industry. In fact, this country was responsible for a massive 8% of all reported fraud cases in 2024.
Bangladesh is closely followed by Indonesia at 8%, and South Korea is third at 6.6%. In fourth, it’s Pakistan at 6.1%, and then Bosnia & Herzegovina comes in fifth place with 6%.
Combatting iGaming Fraud: Latest Anti-Fraud Tech Advancements
The good news for players and online gambling sites alike is that there’s a lot of impressive technology out there that combats fraud in iGaming, and this technology gets better all the time.
Some of this technology is for iGaming fraud detection, and the rest is mainly focused on online gambling fraud prevention.
2024 has seen the development of new technologies for iGaming fraud prevention and the updates of existing technologies. Here are some of the most important pieces of anti-fraud technology currently available.
Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning
One of the latest and greatest technologies of our time is AI, and it’s being put to good use in the world of sports betting and online casino cyber security.
Online gaming fraud detection algorithms are being produced and improved upon all of the time. These days, they can be used to spot suspicious activity a lot more clearly, such as rapid, repeated bets or slot game spins.
They can also help spot suspicious sign-in attempts to user accounts and calculate the risk of specific user accounts based on their overall activities. This puts players and gambling sites alike in a much safer position.
Crypto and the Blockchain
There’s more to online crypto gaming than just better bonuses. The blockchain is actually one of the best pieces of technology for sports betting sites and online casino security.
First of all, players don’t have to provide any personal information to use the blockchain. This means that they can be completely anonymous with their transactions, which is, of course, good news for security.
In addition, the blockchain is more transparent. Players and gambling sites will be able to see records of payments, which makes it much harder for fraudsters to manipulate or hide financial activities.
Payment Fraud Prevention
There’s also a lot of interesting tech protecting fiat currency payments these days. For example, 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) was released in 2017 and has been improved since then.
It’s one of the safest ways to authenticate transactions in iGaming and, therefore, to kick out fraud.
The process of tokenization is also helpful, as it replaces information like credit card numbers with tokens that cannot be traced back. This prevents fraudsters from stealing users’ finances.
Improved Identity Verification Technology
One of the best solutions for preventing identity fraud in iGaming is to clamp down on it. This will be one of the key factors in combatting the most common type of iGaming fraud, bonus abuse.
Plus, it’s key to protecting players’ accounts.
Device fingerprinting is a technology that iGaming has been embracing recently in small amounts and is likely to continue in the coming months and years. This provides an extra level of verification for users and massively reduces the chance of fraud.
Geolocation Verification
Being able to pinpoint exactly where an online sports betting or casino account is being accessed has been a profound step for online gaming fraud detection. If we can see where hackers are attempting to gain access to accounts, we can do a lot more to stop them.
Biometric Authentication
User verification is likely to become even more advanced when online casinos and betting sites begin to roll out biometric authentication. Things like facial recognition software and retina scanning can be used to ensure that only the player can access their iGaming account.
How to Protect Yourself from iGaming Fraud
The good news is that there are a handful of steps you can take to protect yourself from fraud and negate the risks of online gambling while you play at sports betting sites and online casinos.
Don’t Write Down Your Password
A key rule for secure online gambling is to never write down your password, whether it be on paper or in the notes app of your phone.
You never know when somebody might be able to gain access to this, and if it falls into the wrong hands, you’ll be at risk of compromising your gambling account.
Use a Combination of Letters, Numbers, and Special Characters
On the subject of passwords, it’s important to pick the right one. These days, it’s not enough to just have a single world, as password-hacking technology is likely going to be able to get that. You’ll need to use numbers and special characters alongside the letters.
In addition, it is good to use a combination of capital and lowercase letters. Consider using your browser’s ‘create a safe password’ tool if it has one.
Consider Using Two-Factor Authentication when Possible
Two-factor authentication can really add an extra level of security to your online gambling account.
This might require you to use a fingerprint sensor, a code from a third-party authentication app, or something else. We highly recommend doing this if the option is available.
Only Sign Up for Safe Online Gambling Sites
It’s imperative that iGaming players be diligent about the gambling sites they choose to play at. It’s recommended that they read reviews from other players to look for potential red flags, for example.
Moreover, be sure to only sign up for sites with a strong list of casino software providers, as this shows that the site is going to be more trustworthy. Fast payout processing also helps.
Be Aware of Email Phishing Scams
It’s sometimes easier said than done to spot a scam attempt, as scams have become more complex in recent times. Always check the email address that emails come from, and never give over any sensitive data via email, either.
The bottom line is that you should always reach out to a gambling site’s customer support team if you’re ever suspicious of an email claiming to be from them.
Is iGaming Fraud Something to Worry About?
With iGaming expected to reach a revenue of over $100 billion globally, it’s no wonder that more and more fraudsters are trying to get in on the action.
While the numbers do look alarming on the face of it, it’s important to note that if you’re vigilant while playing online casino games and betting on sports, the chances of being directly affected by it as a player are low.
There’s a lot of impressive tech out there right now in terms of sports betting and casino cybersecurity, and that tech is only going to get stronger and more robust in its defenses.
So, with that and with the tips we provided earlier in this article, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. Stay safe, have fun, and gamble responsibly.
