Fraud in Gambling
Fraud in gambling refers to any dishonest actions through which people try to make money by circumventing the rules. This can include creating fake accounts, inflating deposits, or using bots instead of real players. Such actions undermine the integrity of gaming platforms and harm both operators and honest players.
The most common types of fraud in gambling include:
Fraud traffic — using bots and automatic scripts to simulate the activity of real players. Fraudsters create the impression of activity that formally meets the requirements for receiving payments.
Multi-accounting — registering multiple accounts by one person to repeatedly receive bonuses. This is a direct violation of the rules of most platforms, leading to significant financial losses.
Incentivized traffic — attracting users with promises of rewards for registration. Such users are not interested in the product and have zero LTV (lifetime value).
Self-referrals — partners registering using their own referral links with fake data. This creates an illusion of activity and leads to unjustified payments.
Click fraud — artificially increasing the number of clicks on advertisements, forcing advertisers to pay for fictitious traffic. Especially relevant when working with the CPC model.
Types of Fraud
To effectively combat fraud, it's important to understand its varieties and mechanisms. Each type of fraud requires a specific approach to detection and prevention.
In addition to the main types of fraud, there are more complex schemes:
Hidden fraud — using complex technical solutions to bypass basic protection systems. For example, distributed networks of bots with unique IP addresses.
Payment stage fraud — manipulations with payment systems, including the use of stolen payment data or exploitation of payment gateway vulnerabilities.
Fraud using emulators — imitation of real user actions through software emulators that are difficult to distinguish from real people.
Each of these types of fraud can cause significant damage if appropriate protective measures are not taken.
What is an Anti-Fraud System and Why is it Needed in Affiliate Marketing?
An anti-fraud system is a software complex for detecting and blocking fraudulent activity. In traffic arbitrage, such systems are necessary to protect advertising budgets and improve lead quality.
Fraud in arbitrage leads to financial losses, undermines the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and distorts analytics. Modern anti-fraud systems automatically analyze user behavior, traffic sources, and technical parameters of devices to distinguish legitimate actions from fraud.
What an anti-fraud system does:
Analyzes behavior: clicks, sessions, actions
Tracks device fingerprints
Compares IP and geolocation
Checks payment activity
Filters bots and fake activity
Blocks malicious redirects
In traffic arbitrage, anti-fraud is especially critical: fraudsters seek to monetize the difference between the cost of acquisition and payment for target actions. Effective fraud protection allows you to maintain margins and increase partner trust.
How Do Affiliate Programs and Advertisers Combat Fraud?
Affiliate programs and advertisers use various methods to combat fraud. The choice of method depends on the capabilities and experience of the company.
The main ways to combat fraud include:
Manual moderation of sites before connecting to the partner network. This allows you to weed out obviously fraudulent resources before the start of cooperation.
Implementation of algorithms for working with invalid clicks. The system determines the abnormal frequency of clicks and automatically filters out suspicious activity.
Using Fingerprinting technology to identify unique users. The technology analyzes dozens of device parameters, creating a unique digital fingerprint.
Developing custom logic for fraud identification, taking into account the specifics of the business and typical fraud patterns in a particular niche.
Filtering suspicious clicks in real-time, for example, when the time between ad impression and click is too short.
Comprehensive traffic analysis of sites using multiple parameters, allowing the detection of anomalies in user behavior.
Implementation of a hold system — temporary freezing of payments until full verification of traffic quality. This is especially effective for new partners.
When fraud is detected, the site gets blocked, money is charged back and returned to the advertiser. In case of repeated violations, the partnership with the webmaster is terminated.
How Anti-Fraud Systems Work
Anti-fraud systems function based on collecting and analyzing data about users and their activity. They work in real-time, which allows them to instantly react to suspicious activity.
The principle of anti-fraud systems includes:
Data collection: The system records IP address, device, geolocation, payment actions, and session history.
Behavioral analysis: Click speed, time on site, sequence of actions, and other metrics are studied.
Comparison with patterns: The obtained data is compared with typical behavior scenarios — both honest and fraudulent.
Anomaly detection: When deviations are detected, the system can block the account, stop the transaction, and mark the user for verification.
Manual verification: In complex cases, the incident is transferred to the team for detailed analysis.
System training: Machine learning algorithms are constantly updated to adapt to new types of fraud.
Modern anti-fraud systems also use machine learning and artificial intelligence to continuously improve fraud detection algorithms. This allows them to adapt to new fraud schemes and minimize the number of false positives.
Why Anti-Fraud Systems are Needed
Anti-fraud systems perform several critically important functions for the gambling business. Below are the main tasks they solve:
Identify suspicious transactions based on anomalies in payment activity
Block phishing attacks and malware before damage occurs
Protect players' finances and prevent personal data leakage
Monitor user behavior and detect the use of bots or scripts
Prevent withdrawals during fraud attempts
Operate in real-time and reduce risks to a minimum
Increase platform trust from players, partners, and regulators
Without anti-fraud systems, companies rely exclusively on the manual work of employees, which increases risks due to the human factor and reduces the speed of response to threats.
How to Choose an Anti-Fraud Service
When choosing an anti-fraud service, several key factors must be considered. The right choice will help protect your business from fraud most effectively.
The main criteria for choosing an anti-fraud service:
Traffic type: desktop or mobile — the service should take into account the peculiarities of devices
Volume of checks: tariffs differ in the number of sessions checked
Fraud level: it's important to know the typical level of risks in your niche
Price-to-benefit ratio: the most expensive solution is not always the best
Integration: the service should easily integrate into the current ecosystem
Flexibility and updates: adaptation to new types of fraud is important
Support and expertise: critical during incidents and system setup
Reviews and testing: it's useful to test the solution in action before purchasing
When choosing a service, it's also worth paying attention to reviews from other companies in your niche and conducting a test period with different solutions.
How to Avoid Being Suspected of Fraud
It's important for honest partners to avoid suspicion from anti-fraud systems. For this, it is recommended to:
Work only with legal and quality traffic sources, avoiding gray and black attraction methods
Avoid sharp jumps in traffic volumes, which can be perceived as an anomaly
Monitor traffic quality metrics: time on site, view depth, engagement indicators
Do not use the same payment data for different accounts, which can be perceived as multi-accounting
Be ready to provide confirmation of traffic sources and working methods at the request of the affiliate program
Follow the rules and requirements of affiliate programs, especially regarding prohibited methods of attracting traffic
Maintain stable traffic quality, avoiding sharp fluctuations in conversion rates
Compliance with the rules of affiliate programs and transparency in work is the best strategy for long-term cooperation and avoiding unjustified suspicions of fraud.
Conclusion
Anti-fraud systems are not just a tech feature — they are a critical layer of defense for any gambling business. As fraud tactics become more sophisticated, only a proactive strategy and advanced protection tools can ensure long-term sustainability and partner trust.
Ready to safeguard your business and marketing spend? Start by choosing a reliable anti-fraud solution today!
