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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/
Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by European Gaming
Spinomenal has released its supernatural slot, Baba Yaga Tales Hold & Hit, a fresh take on the hugely popular original hit. Players step into an eerie world of Baba Yaga dominated by a dark forest shrouded in mist and mystery. Spinomenal’s Slavic slot is presented within a frame made from twisted branches and arcane symbols, featuring the infamous Baba Yaga, her crooked forest hut, and a fiery phoenix.
PG Soft has released its swashbuckling slots adventure, Dead Man’s Riches. This latest release from PG Soft’s studio is a 5-reel, 3-row video slot featuring Travelling Wild symbols with increasing multipliers. Players must stand with two pirate crews on the hunt for one legendary treasure beneath the seas. The Wild Red Skull symbol, Wild Blue Skull symbol and Wild Captain symbol substitute for all symbols except Scatter symbol.
Million Games is excited to unveil Yin Yang, a visually stunning Chinese-themed slot that blends traditional symbolism with thrilling modern mechanics. This unique game features dual 3×3 reel sets, with synchronised spinning and Yin & Yang Bonus Symbols unlocking Free Spins with a powerful 3×6 merged grid.
Thunderkick has raised the steaks with the launch of Milk the Cow, the latest addition to its diverse content portfolio that fuses the popular Wild Field mechanic with a Hold & Win feature to unlock 5,000x jackpot wins. Whimsical cows roam the reels of this 5×5 cluster pays slot, where the Wild Field mechanic returns following its success in the recent release, Archie O’Loggins and the Enchanted Masks.
MGA Games has announced the release of its latest production: Athena’s Treasure, a 5-reel adventure slot set in Ancient Greece. In this thrilling game, players will join mythical characters like Athena, Pegasus, and Perseus in their quest for hidden treasures among forgotten temples. With stunning visual design, Athena’s Treasure offers an epic experience full of mystery, fantasy, and big win potential.
Push Gaming has launched Regal Knights, a bold new title that blends the excitement of classic slot gameplay with a dynamic medieval twist. Designed for those who enjoy the simplicity of traditional slots but want added progression and depth, Regal Knights provides a well-balanced mix of familiarity and modern game design. Central to the gameplay is the Mystery Symbol, which reveals wilds, paying symbols, or the Golden Mystery Symbol.
Stakelogic continues to expand its portfolio of visually striking, feature-rich video slots with the launch of Tiger Temple 88, a thrilling 243-ways-to-win experience set in a world of ancient riches, fierce tiger guardians, and powerful bonus mechanics. Set against the tranquil beauty of cherry blossom forests, Tiger Temple 88 draws players into a mystical world where a tiger guardian protects sacred treasures hidden deep within a long-forgotten temple.
Players set sail, spin the reels and plunder epic jackpots in Blackbeard’s Lucky Bucks Hold & Win from in-demand provider, Rival. This is a swashbuckling slot where players get to unleash the cannons and light up the reels as they command the high seas and discover the treasures within. But no pirate voyage is complete without unexpected twists and turns along the way, and that’s exactly what happens in Blackbeard’s Lucky Bucks, with a trove of bonus features ensuring plenty of action spin after spin.
Amusnet has released its latest video slot game, Caramelo Sortudo. This new dog-themed slot is with 3×3 layout and a variety of special features. This latest slot release does not feature traditional paylines. Instead, it uses a Reel Ways Pay mechanics, which means the game pays on all reel ways for combinations of a kind. Keep an eye out for the Grilled Chicken Bonus, which is triggered by landing 3 Scatter/Bonus symbols on the reel and brings various multipliers to the table.
Play’n GO turns up the heat with Fire Joker 100, the latest entry in its iconic Fire Joker series. This 3×3 video slot builds on the blazing legacy of the original, offering players a refined, retro-inspired game with intensified mechanics and a few scorching surprises. The mischievous Fire Joker returns, smirking from the reels and stacked three-high in all his fiery glory. Classic symbols like stars, sevens, and fruit sizzle against a glowing red-orange backdrop, but this familiar setup conceals powerful enhancements.
Just Slots has just announced the launch of its next game, ‘Book of Arcane 100’. In this new, magically charged adventure, players step into the role of a budding mage, learning from the most powerful spellcasters at an ancient and mysterious school of magic. Book of Arcane has max win potential of a staggering 100,000x, on top of this the game will conjure up a brand new exciting gamble feature that can boost wins.
Evoplay has released Wild Pounce, a high-volatility jungle-themed slot designed to deliver fast-paced action and strong engagement through dynamic free spins and progressive multipliers. Set deep within a tropical jungle, Wild Pounce invites players into a world of fluttering butterflies, colourful birds, and elusive jaguars. Played across a 5×4 reel layout with 25 paylines, the game’s centrepiece is its Free Spins mode, where Jumping Wilds move across the grid on every spin, increasing win potential throughout the round.
Playson, the accomplished digital entertainment supplier, cranks up the energy in its intense new release, Thunder Coins XXL: Hold and Win, where a revamped bonus game supercharges players to grand returns. Golden bells, a feast of fruit icons, and fiery red sevens instantly radiate energy across the title’s expanded 5×3 grid and 15 paylines, accompanied by golden coins and the coveted Thunder Bonus symbols.
The iconic gang of treasure-hunting misfits are back for the highly anticipated The Goonies™ Megaways™ Quest for Riches, as Blueprint Gaming™ enhances the series with boosted collect modifiers including One-Eyed Willy’s Treasure Chests. The muti-stage Cash Collect system is driven through the Treasure Map sitting above the reels where players benefit from a host of lavish modifiers for every cash collect symbol landed. Streak Collect, Expand Collect, Respin Collect, Match Collect and then Skeleton Key are unlocked before the coveted Treasure Chests.
Booming Games is turning up the heat with the launch of Burning Classics 5000, the latest and most explosive addition to its Burning Classics game series. Building on the foundation of one of the company’s most beloved titles, this revamped classic slot delivers fiery visuals, timeless gameplay, and an electrifying boost in win potential—now offering a max payout of over 5000x your stake.
ELA Games, an innovative game development studio, announces the official release of its newest title, Rabbit Winpot Deluxe. Step into the spotlight and witness a magical showdown between Rabbit the Magician and their formidable opponent, the Lion! The unique 3×1 slot reimagines slot gaming with a new and entertaining format that creates a fast gameplay environment, with each spin full of suspense.
Gaming Corps announced the launch of Hyena Heist, the next daring entry in its A-MAZE-CADES™ series. Players join a trio of mischievous Laughing Hyenas as they execute a daring bank robbery, pursuing bags of cash, bars of gold and sparkling jewels on a dynamic 5×5 grid. In Hyena Heist, every winning combination triggers the signature A-MAZE-CADES™ cascade mechanic.
Get front row seats to an epic clash between two rival gods in Battle of Myths – an action-packed addition to the Elysium Studios – Driven by Swintt line-up that pits dragon against tiger in a divine skirmish where free spins and multipliers will ultimately decide the victor. Set to an imposing backdrop of mountaintop dojos jutting from the heart of the rainforest, Battle of Myths is an Asian mythology-inspired slot that sees legendary warriors fight for control of the kingdom and the heart of the princess with the help of cascading reels and powerful wild features.
The post Week 22/2025 slot games releases appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The next highly anticipated gaming event on EGT Digital’s calendar is SiGMA Asia, which will be held on June 3rd and 4th in Manila. Together with EGT, the iGaming provider will welcome visitors at booth 1113 to reveal its impressive selection of innovations and bestsellers.
The guests will be able to try out EGT Digital’s wide range of over 140 casino games spanning a variety of themes, as well as further increase their chances of winning with the Bell Link, Clover Chance, High Cash, and Single Progressive jackpots. The 4-level multi-denomination Gods & Kings Link will be presented for the first time locally. It received positive feedback after its recent official debut and is expected to get a warm acceptance also from Asian operators and players. Currently including 3 games: Ape of Luck, Glorious Alexander, and Rise of Ra, with more to join in the coming months, it will offer the show attendees numerous bonuses and a lot of fun.
EGT Digital will also demonstrate X-Nave, its in-house developed “all-in-one” betting platform, providing all the tools and features needed for building and maintaining a successful online business or for improving current performance. X-Nave includes 4 main modules: Sport Product, Gaming Aggregator, CRM Engine, and Payment Gateway. Depending on the operators’ needs, each of them can be used as part of the complete solution or independently, as they can integrate with developments from third-party providers.
“EGT Digital’s products have enormous potential for the local markets, and SIGMA Asia provides us with a great opportunity to showcase them to many potential future clients in the region,” said Mariana Manchina, Director of EGT Philippines. “In addition, we are also looking forward to the prestigious SiGMA Asia Awards, where our company is shortlisted in the Best Sportsbook Provider 2025 and Best Platform 2025 categories.”
The post EGT Digital’s innovative developments to captivate visitors at SiGMA Asia 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
EGT is pleased to announce that it will participate in this year’s edition of SiGMA Asia, which will take place on 03 and 04 June in Manila. “We have prepared a fascinating selection of products developed specifically for the Asian markets, so don’t miss the chance to stop by our booth 1113 and learn more about it!,” said Mariana Manchina, Director of EGT Philippines.
Among the main highlights will be the 4-level progressive Zhao Cai Shuang Yu jackpot, which will be presented to the local gaming audience for the first time. Housed in the popular slot cabinet G 50 J1 Up, it will dive visitors into the world of its 2 games Prosperity Strike and Rising Coins, enabling them to collect special symbols and win at any bet level, with higher stakes increasing the likelihood of hitting the highest Grand level.
Sheng Sheng Bu Xi and Cai Fu Tian Jiang, which have already been successfully installed in various gaming venues across different countries, will also be on display. They will invite the guests to embark on captivating adventures that will reward them with riches and lots of fun. Numerous attractive bonus features will add even more thrill to the game, providing additional winning opportunities.
The top-performing G 50 C Up and G 50 J2 Up cabinets and the vast diversity of the General Series multigames will complement EGT’s slot display.
The company will present its ETG developments as well. The attendees will be able to try out the GS 32 T and S 32 T terminals, which feature frameless displays for crystal-clear visuals, numerous ergonomic functionalities, and enormous flexibility, allowing them to participate in endless configurations. The G RSA, EGT’s compact Standalone Automatic Roulette center, will also demonstrate its seamless connectivity to all the company’s play stations. The option to add an American roulette wheel further enriches the gaming choice and guarantees an engaging player experience.
EGT Digital will also showcase its extensive portfolio of iGaming solutions, featuring instant and casino games, jackpot products, as well as the in-house developed “all-in-one” betting platform X-Nave, which comprises four main modules. All this provides operators with a complete solution for building and maintaining a successful online business.
Ms. Manchina concluded: “SIGMA Asia is one of the most important gaming events in the region and I am glad that we will take part in it once again. Our participation in the previous 2 editions was very fruitful, having brought us many valuable new contacts and the opportunity to present our high-potential products to the key players in the local markets. I believe that our performance in 2025 will be the same, and it may even be better. This year, we are even more excited because EGT is a finalist in the SiGMA Asia Awards, where we will compete for the accolade in the Best Land-based Game Feature category.”
The post EGT’s Asian-themed products to make a splash at SiGMA Asia 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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