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Betway announced as sponsor of the Madrid Open

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Leading online bookmaker Betway and the Mutua Madrid Open are proud to announce the globally recognised brands sponsorship of the renowned men’s and women’s professional tennis tournament.

Part of the ATP and WTA circuits, the event showcases some of the world’s best talent at the Caja Mágica. After the postponement of the 2020 tournament, supporters across the world will once again be able to enjoy competitive tennis action from April 30 to May 9, a new two week extended running date.

Joining Betway’s growing Tennis portfolio, which already includes the Miami Open and Estoril Open, this announcement demonstrates Betway’s commitment to the biggest sporting events around the world.

Anthony Werkman, Betway’s CEO said: “We are extremely proud to be announcing our sponsorship of the Mutua Madrid Open.

“It demonstrates our strong commitment to sporting events across the globe and we look forward to being part of such a prestigious Tennis tournament.”

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Rising Bonus Abuse in Sports Betting: Fraudsters Leveraging Hidden AI Powered Bots

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As digitalisation sweeps through the industry, the sports betting market has flourished. Taking betting online has made the experience more accessible, convenient, and interactive than ever. Artificial intelligence (AI) has made a big splash in recent years, giving sportsbooks access to more detailed data analytics. AI doesn’t only benefit sportsbooks however, as fraudsters have taken advantage of the technology for more malicious purposes. If sportsbooks don’t take action now, they face rapid losses to their budgets.

Sportsbooks frequently invest in pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns to drive first-time depositors (FTDs), using promotions such as bonuses to attract new users. However, these bonuses are a prime target for fraudsters, who leverage advances in AI to exploit them—driving fake sign-ups that drain budgets without delivering genuine new players.

To accomplish this, bad actors program AI-powered bots to rapidly create new accounts and take advantage of promotions without ever generating a conversion on the site. Bot networks like this are detrimental to advertising budgets, being responsible for nearly 40% of click fraud according to FraudLogix.

Most sportsbooks have fraud management systems in place to intercept and block these bad actors during the sign-up process. However, this does not prevent bots from clicking on paid search ads in the first place, driving up costs and draining marketing budgets before fraud can even be detected.

Sportsbooks need to take it upon themselves to develop a proactive strategy to identify fraudulent engagement. Without a strategy in place, sportsbooks risk significant profit loss and distorted campaign metrics.

 

Evolving Fraud tactics

Sportsbooks have been reaping the rewards of digitalisation, but this increased success comes with a hidden cost. The success of the industry has drawn the attention of bad actors, and with AI they pose a bigger threat than ever. Bad actors can now program AI bots to convincingly behave as a human user would. Bots can then carry out repetitive tasks repeatedly, allowing fraudsters to create floods of them to interfere with campaigns.

The PPC campaigns utilised by sportsbooks are often targeted by bots which repeatedly click on these paid ads. This drives up ad revenue for the publisher drastically, as bots increase the overall customer acquisition costs (CACs).

To carry out an attack, fraudsters use hosting servers. These servers can be used to store large amounts of data. From here, bad actors can then disguise themselves using a residential Internet Service Provider (ISP) to blend in with other users. Bad actors can mask their real location by routing their connection through a different server. This is typically carried out by using a residential IP address through a residential proxy, making the fraudster appear like a legitimate user to trick systems.

Fraudsters are experts at covering their tracks, as they can program bots to delete their information and cookies after clicking on a paid ad. Bots can then carry out the task on repeat by switching to a different device to appear as a new user. Fraudulent clicks from bots increase market expenditure without leading to a legitimate conversion, draining resources, and diluting return on investment (ROI). The problem is plaguing the industry as bots are responsible for approximately 24% of all clicks according to Imperva, and the risk is only increasing.

 

 

Bots Taking Advantage of Paid Promotions

A great way for sportsbooks to capture a new audience is through one-time special promotions. Bonuses like these are a popular hook, and encourage players to keep betting, even after the bonus funds are used up. Most of these promotions are offered once per account, but fraudsters can use bots to manipulate the system. These bots are programmed to generate multiple fake accounts and abuse the bonus repeatedly. Funds intended to drive FTDs are then diverted by bots without delivering genuine value, significantly draining resources.

Fraudulent traffic negatively impacts future campaigns as bot activity skews metrics. An influx of bot activity provides marketers with false positive results. Sportsbooks will then mistakenly direct more funds to these campaigns, setting them up for future losses and more bot activity.

Legacy fraud tools typically concentrate on the sign-up stage, targeting and blocking fraud there. However, this tactic doesn’t stop bots from siphoning media spend beforehand. Differentiating between sophisticated bots and legitimate traffic is difficult for these tools, allowing fraudsters to act before they can be identified. Attacks are on the rise, and if sportsbooks fail to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves against fraudulent clicks, they face considerable losses.

 

 

Utilising Transparency to Tackle Fraud

To ensure marketing efforts aren’t wasted and first-time depositors can be reached, sportsbooks need a strategy in place to combat fraud. Sportsbooks should be analysing their traffic for any sign of potential bot activity before they suffer multiple losses.

Monitoring traffic allows sportsbooks to identify irregular engagement, such as high bounce or click rates, or traffic from suspicious locations. To identify bots before they can impact campaigns, sportsbooks should continuously monitor their traffic for anomalies like these so they can be dealt with.

Fake accounts run by bots are a growing problem for sportsbooks, therefore sportsbooks should deploy strong identity verification alongside a trusted partner. This prevents fraudsters from creating multiple accounts to exploit promotions by forcing them to prove their identity.

Sportsbooks can also set click frequency limits for users. Setting limits prevents a particular user from repeatedly clicking on the same paid ad campaign. Bots are especially vulnerable to this tactic, preventing them from driving up costs by blocking them with a click threshold.

 

Ending Bonus Abuse

Digitalisation has provided both opportunities and complex challenges for sportsbooks. The pivot towards online betting has presented sportsbooks with the chance to reach a whole new audience. However, sportsbooks can’t truly capitalise on this new opportunity as long as bots are draining budgets behind the scenes.

To protect their advertising investments, sportsbooks need to take action. Sportsbooks need to take control of their traffic and identify any bot activity before bad actors have the chance to take advantage. By taking an active role in their defence, sportsbooks can ensure their bonuses stay strictly in the hands of their real audience.

 


Article by Chad Kinlay, Chief Marketing Officer, TrafficGuard

A driven, open-minded, creative senior marketer with a strong sense of dedication and commitment. With over 15 years of progressive international experience in marketing and communications management, Kinlay has a credible history of commercial success. 

The post Rising Bonus Abuse in Sports Betting: Fraudsters Leveraging Hidden AI Powered Bots appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Sweet Fortune Megaways: A Sweet Slot with Free Spins and Expanding, Multiplying Wilds

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MGA Games has announced the launch of its new slot, Sweet Fortune Megaways, in the .com markets on August 25th. This game transports players to Sugarland, a magical universe made of sweets and candy. Set in the city of Candyville, where chocolate rivers and caramel streets create a unique atmosphere, the title features the Megaways mechanic and promises a memorable experience.

The gameplay is full of surprises. Players can enter a majestic candy palace through the Free Spins screen, where prizes multiply and a mini game is activated inside the Grand Prize Hall. This combination of mechanics, setting, and interactive elements has been designed to maximize user engagement.

Among its main innovations are random multiplying Wilds (x2, x3), expanding Wilds, and the Megaways structure, which allows for thousands of possible combinations with each spin. Additionally, this marks the first time MGA Games has embraced a candy-themed slot, aligning with the most popular trends in the gaming and entertainment sectors.

The game will also be available in Spain starting September 1st under the name Dulce Fortuna Megaways, and in Portugal beginning October 27th under the title Doce Fortuna Megaways. With this launch, MGA Games continues its international expansion strategy, offering localized, high-performance products for online casino operators.

The post Sweet Fortune Megaways: A Sweet Slot with Free Spins and Expanding, Multiplying Wilds appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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ELA Games at SBC Lisbon: New Games, Market Growth, and Awards Night

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The ELA Games team is attending the event to demonstrate new developments

ELA Games, a dynamic game development studio, announces its attendance at SBC Lisbon, set to take place at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa & Meo Arena from 16 – 18 September.

Attending the event will be:

  • Marharyta Yerina, Managing Director
  • Oleksii Shulhin, Head of ELA Games
  • Yaroslav Soloshenko, Team Lead Business Development Manager
  • Petr Vonarshenko, Business Development Manager
  • Sadaf Ali, Senior Account Manager

SBC Lisbon is a key annual gathering in the online gaming and betting industry, welcoming over 30,000 delegates to experience innovations, cutting-edge products, and networking opportunities. The ELA Games team will take the global stage to connect with partners, demonstrate its casino-and-player-centric development approach, and reveal new roadmap developments.

At the event, ELA Games will highlight its diverse portfolio, including recent hits from the Winpot series (Joker Winpot, Zeus Winpot, Rabbit Winpot Deluxe), visually rich classics like Juicy Crystal and Flame Fruits Frenzy, and innovative new releases such as Shoot Happens. The team will also preview upcoming titles and discuss recent expansions into important growing markets like Denmark, Sweden, Greece, and more.

Adding to the studio’s momentum, the SBC Awards have nominated ELA Games in the “Innovation in Casino Entertainment (Supplier)” category. The award ceremony will take place on September 18 for a night celebrating excellence and forward-thinking solutions. This shortlisting highlights ELA Games’ ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of online gaming and create new experiences for both operators and players.

Marharyta Yerina, ELA Games’ Managing Director, commented, “We’re always excited to attend SBC events as they’re one of the biggest gatherings of the year where we’re able to see many of our partners and make new meaningful connections. This year, ELA Games has plenty to show the world, as we’ve made numerous additions to our portfolio, developed new mechanics, and pushed ourselves creatively. The team is looking forward to sharing all we’ve been up to, and equally excited to attend the award ceremony!”

ELA Games invites all attendees to visit Stand B350 to chat with the team, explore creative solutions to bolster your content library, and find new ways to engage your player base.

📅 Dates: 16–18 September

📍 Location: Stand B350, Feira Internacional de Lisboa & Meo Arena

Book a meeting to secure a spot!

The post ELA Games at SBC Lisbon: New Games, Market Growth, and Awards Night appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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