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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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MONSTER VENOM TOURNAMENTS ON ACR POKER AWARD OVER $11 MILLION IN PRIZE POOLS TO PLAYERS AND DELIVER BIG POKER ACTION

Published

42 minutes ago

February 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

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ACR Poker has wrapped up its flagship Dual Mystery Bounty Venom tournaments, delivering more than two weeks of high-octane online poker action and awarding over $11 million in total prize pools to players from around the world.

The hugely popular series once again surpassed expectations, smashing guaranteed prize pools and cementing the Venom brand as one of the biggest and most exciting events on the online poker calendar.

The Venom No-Limit Hold’em (NLH) event comfortably exceeded its $8 million guarantee, generating a massive $9,182,500 prize pool, with $4,591,250 allocated to mystery bounties. Meanwhile, the Venom Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) tournament surpassed its $2 million guarantee, creating a $2,092,500 total prize pool, including $1,046,250 in bounties.

In the NLH event, 28-year-old Portuguese poker professional Pedro “MatasSembolas” Neves emerged victorious after outlasting a formidable field of 3,673 entrants. Following a three-way deal with ‘BALDOUS’ and ‘basaboy’, Neves captured the Venom title and secured a total payout of $728,281, made up of $630,327 in prize money and $97,953 in bounties.

Reflecting on his victory, Neves said:

“It feels great to win such a big tournament. The Venom is one of the most well-known events on the schedule, so finishing in first place is very satisfying and something I’m really happy about.”

Despite finishing runner-up, UK player ‘BALDOUS’ claimed the largest overall payday of the tournament. By landing the top $500,000 and $150,000 mystery bounties, ‘BALDOUS’ walked away with $510,378 in prize money and an incredible $729,931 in bounties, totaling $1,240,310.

In the PLO Venom, ‘StickyMinaj’ topped an 837-player field, earning the $209,860 first-place prize along with $104,062 in bounties to cap off an impressive performance.

ACR Pro Chris Moneymaker praised the series, saying:

“The Mystery Bounty Venoms had it all — huge fields, nonstop action, and unforgettable moments — and showed why it’s one of the most exciting formats in online poker. Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who landed those incredible bounties — now bring on the next one!”

Fans looking to relive the action can catch a full recap of the NLH final table on ACR Poker’s Twitch channel, featuring commentary from ACR Pros Chris Moneymaker and Jon Pardy, alongside ACR Team Online member Svitlana Dryha.

While the Dual Venom tournaments have concluded, the action on ACR Poker continues. Players can now take part in the $1 million guaranteed Moneymaker Mystery Million, the popular weekly high-stakes tournament Phil’s Thrill, and a packed schedule of additional events.

The post MONSTER VENOM TOURNAMENTS ON ACR POKER AWARD OVER $11 MILLION IN PRIZE POOLS TO PLAYERS AND DELIVER BIG POKER ACTION appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

DBET

Immense Group appoints Marcus Adler as Nordic Director for DBET

Published

42 minutes ago

February 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

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Immense Group has appointed Marcus Adler as Nordic Director for DBET, reinforcing its commitment to expanding its sports betting footprint across Sweden and other regulated European markets.

DBET is Immense Group’s first dedicated sports betting brand. Launched in August 2024, the brand has quickly established itself in the Swedish market by delivering a sports betting experience focused on popular sporting events, international pools and jackpots. DBET is available online and on mobile devices, while also boasting a strong retail presence through an extensive nationwide network of betting shop terminals.

Over the past year, DBET has significantly increased its brand visibility by forming strategic partnerships with key Swedish sports organisations, including the Swedish Bandy Association and the Swedish Basketball Association. These collaborations have strengthened DBET’s ties to local sport and helped position the brand as a trusted and recognisable name in a highly competitive landscape.

Based in Sweden, Marcus Adler brings extensive experience in commercial leadership, digital growth and sports gaming. He most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer at RoninSport.io, a Swedish sports TV data and digital engagement provider working with media companies, iGaming operators and sports platforms to deliver real-time sports content solutions. Prior to that, Adler led Online Acquisition at LeoVegas and held several senior commercial roles across the sports media and digital entertainment sectors.

Adler’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Immense Group as it continues to invest heavily in its sports betting capabilities. In 2025, the company selected Altenar as its global sportsbook partner, enabling scalable, localised and compliant sports betting operations across its portfolio of brands in regulated markets.

Commenting on his new role, Marcus Adler said:

“I am very pleased to join Immense Group at a time when the company is making significant investments in sports betting and DBET is gaining real traction in Sweden. The brand already has strong foundations, from its product offering to its partnerships within local sport. My focus will be to provide clear strategic direction for the Nordics, prepare DBET for its next phase of growth, and ensure we deliver a sports betting experience that feels trusted, intuitive and genuinely competitive for players in Sweden and across the wider region.”

The post Immense Group appoints Marcus Adler as Nordic Director for DBET appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Animo

Elantil and Animo Unite to Redefine Live Casino Gaming

Published

42 minutes ago

February 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

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Innovative platform solutions provider collaborates with specialized Live Casino supplier to offer clients real-time games featuring a pop culture flair.

Transforming the industry for operators through its cutting-edge technology and adaptable multi-currency choices, leading platform solutions provider, Elantil, has revealed the integration of a revolutionary studio into its online marketplace with Animo.

Centered on the commitment to employ actual dealers and genuine equipment to provide extraordinary experiences, Animo has revolutionized live entertainment by merging real-time table games with virtual broadcast production, resulting in an immersive format that harmoniously blends pop culture and iGaming.

Animo is presently providing various roulette versions and will expand into additional live gaming formats over the year, utilizing professional dealers in high-quality casino environments and applying its innovative technology to convert them into customizable virtual avatars that meet operators’ needs.

This opens the door to thrilling commercial collaborations that can enhance engagement; Animo’s product is anticipated to attract crypto operators, making the integration especially pertinent as Elantil will showcase at SiGMA Eurasia this month.

Due to the new collaboration, all Animo games will be highlighted in Elantil’s Marketplace, allowing customers to reach out to the supplier directly to establish their own tailored agreements; this eliminates any intermediary expenses and guarantees they receive the ideal package for their requirements.

After terms are settled, they will receive login credentials to access their games directly from Elantil’s Marketplace, while the company manages all technical aspects to ensure they are operational.

John Debono, Chief Technical Officer at Elantil, said: “As anyone who’s visited an Elantil stand at ICE will know, we’re a company that embraces the unconventional and loves to get creative. With this in mind, Animo is the perfect addition to our marketplace, and we believe their unique approach to Live Casino will prove incredibly popular with partners – especially those in the crypto space.”

Harley Fresh, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Animo, said: “Like Elantil, Animo has forged its own path in the iGaming industry, the interactive experiences we provide are unlike anything else. By blending the real world and the virtual, we create a new level of engagement that supports both player acquisition and market penetration. We can’t wait to hear how our line-up can be tailored to Elantil’s customers’ needs and are excited to bring more brand IP to life.”

The post Elantil and Animo Unite to Redefine Live Casino Gaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.