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As eSports become more popular, time for the industry to get real about security

Published

5 years ago

July 26, 2021

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/

Related Topics:eSports latest-news PlayStation 4

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Eeze signs global partnership with EveryMatrix

Published

40 minutes ago

March 25, 2026

Wladimir P.

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Eeze, the next-generation casino supplier, has announced a comprehensive global distribution agreement with EveryMatrix, extending the reach of its live dealer and upcoming slots portfolio to EveryMatrix’s worldwide partner network.

Under the partnership, Eeze’s full range of live dealer titles, including its recently launched Fusion Roulette, alongside forthcoming slot releases, will be made available across EveryMatrix’s Game Aggregator Network. The deal covers EveryMatrix’s active markets globally, marking a key milestone for the supplier’s international expansion.

Mikko Hoglund, Partnership Manager at Eeze, said:

“Partnering with EveryMatrix is an important moment for us as we look to push our games to a wider network of players than ever before. We have a lot of exciting product releases to come in the next few months, and know that these games, as well as our existing portfolio, will be well received across EveryMatrix’s customer base.”

Bjorn Sjoberg, Chief Commercial Officer at EveryMatrix, added:

“We are very pleased to be adding Eeze’s full product suite to our aggregation offering. With best-in-class live products and an exciting array of RNG games on the roadmap, we’re confident that our customers will enjoy the differentiation these titles bring to market.”

With this partnership, Eeze strengthens its footprint in regulated markets and positions its Fusion Roulette and slot titles for maximum visibility, giving operators a compelling mix of content to offer players worldwide.

The post Eeze signs global partnership with EveryMatrix appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Aristocrat Gaming

Aristocrat to Unveil New Class 2 Games at the 2026 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention

Published

40 minutes ago

March 25, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

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Aristocrat Gaming and Aristocrat Interactive to unveil a broad portfolio of new products at the 2026 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (IGA) in San Diego, Calif., at booth #1629. Among the more than 60 innovations on display, highlights will include the tradeshow premiere of several Class 2 games; Class II Mobile, which bridges the gap between the casino floor and the digital world; Modernized Membership, designed to enhance operator-player relationships; and the newly acquired Gaming Analytics, bringing powerful data-driven insights to operators.

Aristocrat Gaming will reinforce its position as the leader in Class 2 gaming with several tradeshow premieres and expansions of player-favorite game families, including:

• Mr. Money Bags Makes Another Mint is a sequel to the original player-favorite, now with Triple Metamorphic features that can be triggered by themselves, in pairs, or all three at once. Plus, a new Frenzy Cash feature can trigger a wheel bonus for a chance at the Frenzy Jackpots SSP.

• Mr. & Ms. Money Bags brings the ever-popular Mr. Money Bags to a new stepper game and introduces a new VGT character – Ms. Money Bags. This all-new game appears on the new Marquis cabinet with a digital wheel showcase and a double metamorphic that can be triggered independently or together.

• Other titles on display include popular Class 3 hits, now available in Class 2: Coin Trio Buffalo, Spooky Link, and Bao Zhu Zhao Fu Ignite Blue and Red Prosperity.

Hardware also takes center stage, and the company’s games will appear on the industry’s leading cabinets in both Class 2 and Class 3. Aristocrat Gaming will show a breadth of content for The Baron Portrait, The Baron Upright, Crown Bartop, King Max, Marquis, MarsX Portrait, MarsX Upright, and Neptune Single cabinets.

Class 3 titles include Bao Zhu Zhao Fu Firecracker Express, Lightning 10 Year Storm, and Spooky Link Grand, which all recently made their official U.S. debuts. Also on display will be MONOPOLY Big Board Bucks and NFL Super Grand Champions, both first seen by attendees at G2E 2025. Finally, show attendees can look forward to seeing player-favorite titles such as The Hunt for Neptune’s Gold, Crazy Dragons, and Fo Mo Mummy.

Gaming Systems from Aristocrat Interactive are modernizing both the cardless and cashless membership journey, all while increasing operator efficiency, player loyalty, and maximizing loyalty programs. Software solutions on display include OASIS Loyalty, OASIS Connect, PlayerMax, and Oasis Digital Wallet. Transformative hardware solutions in the booth include nCompass and Intelligent Card Reader Pro.

Aristocrat Interactive iGaming & Sports will display the Class II Mobile Solution. Class II Mobile bridges the gap between the casino floor and the digital world by delivering player-favorite games anytime, anywhere on approved tribal gaming land. Class II Mobile is a full turn-key solution and is built on a proven tech stack. It extends the casino brand directly into players’ hands and helps to boost retention with built-in loyalty and real-time engagement, all while offering geolocation solutions. Class II Mobile can evolve into a full-scale digital ecosystem with built-in Sports and iGaming PAM built to scale.

Gaming Analytics, recently acquired by Aristocrat, is a U.S.-based provider of A.I. technology for real-time player analytics, slot optimization, and marketing automation, designed to work alongside traditional casino management systems. At IGA, Gaming Analytics will exhibit at booth #1406 with live demonstrations across slots, database marketing, and player development. The company will present examples of how casino teams use GA’s A.I. to reduce operational friction, speed decision-making, send real-time insights to host teams through its mobile app, and gain clearer floor visibility to identify performance issues.

The post Aristocrat to Unveil New Class 2 Games at the 2026 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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Strive Gaming partners with New Jersey’s award-winning PlayStar Casino

Published

2 hours ago

March 25, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

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Strive Gaming, the modern multi-state, multi-tenanted platform provider built specifically for the North American market, has announced a new partnership with leading online casino operator PlayStar.

Under the agreement, Strive will provide its market-leading PAM technology, supporting PlayStar’s continued growth across North America. PlayStar will migrate its New Jersey operations from its current player account management (PAM) provider onto the Strive platform, followed by launches in additional regulated jurisdictions including Ontario and Alberta in Canada.

PlayStar selected Strive following a detailed evaluation process as it looked for a platform partner capable of supporting its long-term ambitions across North America. Strive’s singular focus on the U.S. market, combined with the strength and scalability of its technology, made it stand out as the clear partner of choice.

Max Meltzer, CEO at Strive Gaming, said:

“PlayStar is a highly ambitious operator with a clear vision for building one of the leading casino brands in North America. They were looking for a platform partner that understands the realities of operating in the U.S. and Canada and can support them as they scale across multiple regulated markets.

“Our focus on North America, combined with the strength and flexibility of our platform, made this a natural fit. Both companies are on strong growth journeys and share similar ambitions for the region, so we’re excited to support PlayStar as they continue to expand.”

PlayStar Casino has quickly established itself as one of the success stories of the regulated North American casino market. The company has successfully built meaningful market share and a strong player following. Partnering with Strive marks the next stage in its growth strategy as it looks to expand further across North America.

Fredrik Liljewall, CEO at PlayStar, added:

“As we continue to scale our presence across North America, selecting a platform partner with a strong regional focus and the ability to support our long-term ambitions was critical.

“Strive’s technology, deep understanding of the North American market, and collaborative mindset made them the clear partner for PlayStar. We look forward to working closely together as we migrate our New Jersey operations and expand into additional jurisdictions, including Canada.”

This partnership marks another important milestone for Strive Gaming, which now supports more B2B PAM customers in the U.S. than any other platform provider. The addition of PlayStar further strengthens Strive’s growing portfolio of operators and reinforces its position as a supplier of choice for ambitious brands looking to launch and scale in the North American market.

The post Strive Gaming partners with New Jersey’s award-winning PlayStar Casino appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.