6 Emerging Fraud Trends in iGaming.
Combat them with streamlined and adaptive KYC and fraud defence.
The global iGaming market is projected to surpass $107.70 billion by 2025, with significant growth across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. However, this expansion has also driven a surge in fraud, which increased by 64% year-over-year between 2022 and 2024. Sophisticated schemes such as account takeovers, credential stuffing, bonus abuse, and cryptocurrency-related money laundering are increasingly targeting operators. AcuityTec is enhancing its solutions to combat these threats by providing operators with the data and tools required to secure their platforms, protect players, and maintain compliance in our ever-evolving digital age.
Fraud Trends and Solutions for iGaming Operators
1. Account Takeovers and Synthetic Identity Fraud
The global cost of identity fraud including Account takeovers (ATO) and synthetic identity fraud is projected to exceed $50 billion in 2025. ATO involves fraudsters using stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to player accounts, exploiting stored payment methods or withdrawing funds. Synthetic identity fraud, meanwhile, combines real and fabricated data to create false identities capable of bypassing KYC checks.
AcuityTec's Solution:
AcuityTec's KYC data suite offers multi-layered protection by implementing identity verification and monitoring across the customer journey. During onboarding, document authentication, biometric checks, and address validations ensure that accounts are legitimate. Dynamic risk scoring further safeguards accounts by flagging suspicious behaviors such as unusual login locations or rapid withdrawals.
For U.S. operators, AcuityTec's CardTrust enhances payment security by validating cardholder data against issuer bank records, reducing the risk of fraud while ensuring seamless transactions
2. Credential Stuffing
According to a recent Verizon report, stolen credentials were a factor in 31% of security breaches, highlighting the pervasive threat posed by credential stuffing attacks. These attacks, which leverage automated bots to test stolen username-password pairs, remain a significant challenge across industries. In 2024, credential stuffing accounted for 24.3% of all login attempts underscoring its scale and effectiveness. The widespread reuse of passwords across platforms further amplifies the risk, making it a highly successful tactic for gaining unauthorized access to player accounts and compromising platform security.
AcuityTec's Solution:
AcuityTec's Authentication Services counter credential stuffing by enabling operators to incorporate multi-factor authentication (MFA), including SMS verification, knowledge-based questions, and liveness detection, into their login flows. AcuityTec's risk screening algorithms also identify unusual volume activities from the same IP address, locking accounts and alerting operators to potential threats.
3. Bonus Abuse Fraud
Bonus abuse continues to be a major challenge for iGaming operators, with fraudsters leveraging bots and multi-accounting schemes to exploit promotional offers. Alarmingly, bonus abuse accounts for over 50% of all fraud cases in the gambling sector, highlighting its pervasive nature. The financial impact is equally staggering, with incentive abuse losses in the betting industry reaching an estimated $1.2 billion between 2022 and 2023. These figures underscore the significant economic strain on operators and the urgent need for advanced fraud prevention measures to safeguard their promotional budgets.
AcuityTec's Solution:
AcuityTec mitigates bonus abuse through device fingerprinting, IP geo-verification, customized multi-level KYC and registration risk analysis monitoring, helping to combat multi-accounting or bot activity patterns. In 2025, AcuityTec anticipates offering advanced bonus abuse features like identifying high-risk players exploiting bonuses, risk-profit modelling to evaluate the financial impact of abusive player behaviour and further enhancement of pattern detection for rapid withdrawal activity.
4. Collusion Between Players
Collusion between players is a growing challenge for iGaming operators, particularly in multiplayer games where individuals conspire to manipulate outcomes and defraud other participants or the platform itself. This often involves shared strategies or coordinated actions that are difficult to detect without advanced tools.
AcuityTec's Solution:
While operators handle in-game activity monitoring, AcuityTec's fraud screening empowers platforms to detect potential collusion by identifying associations between accounts. By analyzing shared data points—such as card numbers, IP addresses, devices, email addresses, and customer profile details—AcuityTec can flag suspicious behavior indicative of collusion.
For example, accounts using the same card details across multiple players or logging in from identical devices or locations can trigger automated alerts. These insights allow operators to investigate and act on flagged accounts, ensuring fair play and protecting the integrity of their platforms. AcuityTec's approach provides a proactive layer of fraud prevention, giving operators the tools to combat collusion effectively.
5. Geolocation Spoofing and Device Fraud
Geolocation spoofing, where users mask their true location using tools like VPNs or proxies, remains a significant challenge in the iGaming industry. Fraudsters exploit this tactic to bypass jurisdictional restrictions, gaining unauthorized access to platforms and violating regional regulations. While exact statistics on geolocation spoofing attempts may vary, the issue is widely recognized as a critical concern for operators.
Additionally, device fraud, such as spoofing device IDs, further complicates detection efforts. Implementing robust geolocation and device compliance measures is essential for iGaming operators to mitigate these risks, prevent fraud, and maintain a secure and trustworthy gaming environment.
AcuityTec's Solution:
AcuityTec’s geolocation services, equipped with multi-layered risk rule performance, provide powerful tools to detect and block these unauthorized access attempts. By analyzing geolocation data in combination with other risk factors, operators can ensure compliance with regional laws while safeguarding their platform's integrity.
6. Cryptocurrency Fraud and Money Laundering
Cryptocurrency transactions in iGaming surged by 45% in 2024, driven by a 43.1% year-on-year increase in the Total Bet Sum during the first nine months of the year, encompassing both fiat and crypto wagers. While this growth highlights the rising popularity of digital assets in gaming, it also amplifies the industry's vulnerability to fraud and money laundering schemes. Fraudsters often exploit the inherent anonymity of blockchain technology to deposit illicit funds, make minimal bets, and withdraw "clean" money, posing significant challenges for operators to detect and prevent such activities.
AcuityTec's Solution:
AcuityTec's Crypto Analysis Services offer advanced tools to combat cryptocurrency-related fraud. Operators can perform wallet verifications across a suite of blockchains, allowing them to identify and flag high-risk or blacklisted wallets. Additionally, the platform integrates AML screening capabilities, enabling adverse media checks, PEP screenings, and transaction monitoring to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and mitigate risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions.
Future-Proofing iGaming Fraud Defence
Fraud in iGaming evolves rapidly, with credential stuffing, collusion, and other sophisticated schemes costing operators billions annually. AcuityTec's suite of solutions is designed to address these challenges by offering:
KYC Data Hub: Comprehensive global identity verification and monitoring.
Dynamic Fraud Screening: Real-time detection of suspicious behaviors and transactions.
Blockchain Intelligence: Advanced tools for mitigating cryptocurrency-related fraud.
Bonus Abuse Prevention: Cutting-edge analytics to reduce promotional exploitation.
With these tools, AcuityTec empowers operators to enhance security, protect players, and maintain compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.
Conclusion
The iGaming industry's rapid growth has made it a prime target for fraud, from account takeovers and credential stuffing to bonus abuse and collusion. Ever-evolving fraud tactics threaten operational integrity and player trust, so operators need robust and adaptive solutions to stay ahead. AcuityTec is at the forefront of combating these threats with its multi-layered approach to fraud prevention, including advanced tools like dynamic risk scoring, adaptive fraud defence, and blockchain intelligence.
Ready to elevate your fraud prevention strategy? Contact our sales team today to learn how AcuityTec can tailor solutions to your platform’s unique needs. Book a demo to experience how our innovative technology can protect your operations, enhance compliance, and ensure a secure environment for your players.