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As eSports become more popular, time for the industry to get real about security
Police in Ukraine recently seized 3,800 PlayStation 4 consoles, which currently retail for around 290 each, and found to their surprise that the operation wasn’t mining cryptocurrency as they assumed but was in fact being used to generate content packs for FIFA Ultimate Team, a popular game mode in the FIFA football series.
The raid and its results underline a fact that may escape more traditionally minded members of the gaming community: eSports is a major industry, and like any industry it is susceptible to fraud. The fact that the games themselves take place virtually is irrelevant to fraudsters who can use the familiar toolkit of multi-accounting, bonus abuse and affiliate fraud to earn thousands.
With many sports teams unable to play throughout much of 2020 and 2021, eSports grew massively. League Championship Series (LCS), one of the largest eSports leagues, became the third most viewed professional sports league amongst 18-34 year olds in the U.S and has retained its corporate sponsors at a time when other leagues were shut down. Success stories like these are blunted by how pervasive eSports fraud is,
So, what kinds of fraud are taking place in eSports, what is it costing eSports organizations and what can be done to stop it?
What kinds of fraud are possible in eSports?
eSports attracts very similar types of fraud to regular sports betting, including:
- Bonus Abuse: Like other sports betting companies, eSports companies often give sign-up bonuses such as free bets to new players. By coding automated systems, a fraudster can sign up to hundreds of accounts and use the free bets to win real money. This can cost gaming companies up to 15% of their revenue.
- Multi-accounting: Similarly, a fraudster can use multiple accounts to perform other types of fraud, such as matched betting, ‘smurfing’ or arbitrage of affiliate fraud.
- Affiliate Fraud: Those eSports betting organizations that draw in some of their new players from affiliates are vulnerable to affiliate fraud in which an affiliate creates fake accounts to gain the pay-out.
- Account takeover: Using lists of passwords from data breaches, keyloggers or phishing a fraudster can gain access to a player’s account and drain their funds.
- Chargeback fraud: A player, who may be a legitimate gamer and not a professional fraudster, initiates a chargeback on a transaction. This is common in gaming when gamblers regret a bad bet and claim that their account was hacked.
The costs of eSports fraud
Fraud costs have a way of snowballing, with each $1 lost through fraud actually costing companies $3. The above techniques are hardly equivalent to the major data breaches of major banking and tech companies that cost on average $3.86 million, but the constant barrage of low-level frauds can soon drain your company’s security budget. Aside from the cost of the fraud itself, there are a number of hidden costs such as:
- Chargeback losses: Investigating and disputing chargebacks will take up your risk team’s time, leaving them little time for more valuable activities. More worryingly, a company with a large number of chargebacks is likely to find it difficult securing credit or loans. Visa and Mastercard’s resolution processes are making things even more difficult for merchants, so you are likely to lose even more.
- Affiliate budget waste: You could be paying for useless clicks from bot networks rather than legitimate customers, wasting your marketing budget and reducing overall ROI.
- Reputational damage: Once word of mouth spreads about customers losing the entire bank accounts to account takeovers it will not be long until players start deserting your site.
- Regulatory fines: The regulations around eSports are not as stringent as with other sports betting, but it will not be long before they catch up. With the industry growing it will not be long before countries put regulations in place to protect players, and without stringent security your company could be fined.
The solutions
You will notice that the majority of the types of fraud common in eSports have to do with fake accounts. These are easy for fraudsters to create using the wealth of publicly available data and leaked information, but fortunately artificial intelligence-based tools have been developed that allow companies to spot synthetic identities.
Through device fingerprinting, email profiling and IP analysis a complete picture of a new signup to your site can be created, allowing software to spot the tell-tale signs of a hastily created account. For example, it could find that an email address does not match any social accounts, or that they use VPNs and data centers to conceal their IP address.
Of course, a sophisticated fraudster could create a convincing fake identity, especially with the wealth of information available from data dumps, so modern technology can also spot the use of pre-paid credit cards or even the speed with which information is entered, which could indicate it is being filled in automatically by a script.
By combining data points from a large and ever-growing set a system can determine whether it is likely that any given new account is fraudulent. For the many cases in which it will not be fully clear whether an account is authentic or not adaptive Know Your Customer checks can be used – customers with several red flags will be given full tests to determine their identity whereas other customers will have less obtrusive tests for a smoother site experience.
eSports has gone from a niche concern to an Olympic sport in a few short years, and that success is going to attract fraud, so it is vital for the industry to pre-emptively defend against fraud by adopting the very highest levels of security.
To learn more, visit: https://seon.io/
As the UK Gambling Commission announces the launch of its consultation on proposed new rules for gaming machines, Nick Arron, lead partner for the Gambling Team at Poppleston Allen urges stakeholders to ensure they are heard
The UK Gambling Commission this week announced the launch of a 16-week consultation, seeking input on proposed new rules for gaming machines in retail venues.
The consultation focuses on technical standards and related testing strategy and aims to improve consumer protection through a number of proposed changes. The consultation is due to end on May 20.
Nick Arron, lead partner for the Betting and Gambling Team at Poppleston Allen, encouraged stakeholders such as operators and licensees to have their say on what impact these proposed changes will have, including the potential costs.
He said: “Robust stakeholder engagement is an important part of this progress. It’s important that operators have their say so that the regulatory framework balances both consumer safety and industry sustainability.
“Changes will require affected businesses to update their processes and technologies to ensure that any changes are not only implemented by the required date but also properly enforced.
“As this consultation progresses, operators will need to weigh the implications of adopting these new standards, not least the cost. While the intention is to enhance consumer protection, businesses must carefully assess the operational and financial implications of the proposed changes.
“While the Gambling Commission’s initiative is a positive step in prioritising consumer safety, the real challenge will be ensuring that the proposed regulatory adjustments are manageable for businesses already operating under thin margins.”
Tim Miller, Gambling Commission executive director for research and policy, said: “We recognise that regulatory changes that impact the design of machines can come with considerable costs.
“We are encouraging consumers, gambling businesses and other interested groups to share evidence that will assist us in measuring both the likely regulatory impacts of the proposed changes and the likely costs of implementing them.
“This evidence will be invaluable to helping make a robust assessment on whether the benefits to consumers are proportionate to the costs involved.”
The post Why stakeholders must be vocal as part of UKGC consultation on gaming machines appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Pateplay is thrilled to unveil its latest strategic partnership with WWin, a premier online operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Martin Yonovski, BDM & CMO at Pateplay, on the collaboration: “Partnering with WWin is a significant step forward for Pateplay. We’re eager to combine our strengths and expertise, and we’re confident this collaboration will open new doors for growth and huge success for both parties”.
Through this alliance, Pateplay is further accelerating its global expansion efforts, poised to achieve extraordinary milestones and deliver unparalleled experiences to players worldwide.
The post Pateplay’s newest partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
GoldenRace, leading provider of award-winning Virtual Sports and betting solutions, is thrilled to announce the renewal of its Maltese certification, successfully tested by BMM lab and approved by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). This renewed certification keeps unlocking opportunities in Romania, Poland, Serbia and other MGA-regulated territories, giving operators a golden ticket to tap into new revenue streams in highly regulated markets.
In Romania, where 88% of the population has internet access, the online gambling market is thriving, offering significant opportunities for operators to attract a tech-savvy audience. Serbia, ranked 8th in Europe for gambling revenue, continues its rapid expansion with over 2,200 betting shops and a flourishing online gambling sector. Meanwhile, Poland’s well-regulated and mature market is a compelling destination for operators seeking sustainable growth.
Any games that have been approved under its newly recertified license in Malta, are also eligible for inclusion under its Class II license in Romania, upon the successful completion of the ONJN approval process. While this certification eases the path in these markets, local regulators may require additional approvals. Operators are advised to present these certifications to their respective regulatory authorities to ensure seamless compliance.
Markets on the rise demand winning content
Compliance may open the door, but content is what keeps players loyal. GoldenRace is helping operators target new demographics and grow market share by offering an incredible portfolio of certified games.
In markets such as Romania and Serbia, football is the main revenue force. GoldenRace continues to dominate this space with its newly certified football games, including its most new football format and games such as Football League, World Cup, Euro tournaments (Champions League & Euro League), La Libertadores and Single Soccer.
With online sports betting making up 58% of Romania’s gambling market and Serbia’s sports betting sector projected to grow by 4.93% between 2025 and 2029, GoldenRace has certified games such as Penalt2Win, Basketball 3×3, Horse and Greyhound racing, MMA (Single & Tournament) and several thrilling motor racing titles, such as Grand Prix Indianapolis 60, Motorbike and Speedway racing.
Eastern Europe’s enduring love for number-based games creates another profitable avenue for operators. Certified games such as Keno & Keno Deluxe, Spin2Win (Royale & American) and Perfect6 are designed to meet the unique preferences of players in these regions.
Insights show that players in Poland and neighboring regions prioritise financial rewards, with 56% listing it as their top motivator for gambling. For those players seeking big payouts potential, Crash Games are leading the charge. After a stellar debut in GoldenRace’s Crashmas campaign, games like Jet Escape, Boom Ball Juggle, Fire Crash, Bank Run and Meteoroid are now part of the certified portfolio.
The post GoldenRace fuels growth in Europe with renewed MGA certification appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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