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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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Weekend Reels | Week 27: Slot Drops & Trends

Published

1 minute ago

July 3, 2026

Wladimir P.

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Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by Eastern European Gaming

Mega Casino has launched 10 Hot Diamond Desire, a new online slot developed by Bragg Gaming, as an exclusive title available only to Mega Casino players. According to the companies, the release is intended to strengthen Mega Casino’s exclusive content line-up in the UK online casino market.

Million Games has launched Skull King’s Treasure, a high-volatility cluster slot developed in partnership with Million Stars studio Arcane Pixel. It runs on a 6×6 grid with a cluster pay mechanic, paying on connections of five or more matching symbols and using cascading wins to enable multiple outcomes from a single spin.

Evoplay has launched Safari Coins, a new three-reel slot built around collector gameplay and four fixed jackpots, including a GRAND prize worth 1,000x the bet. In Safari Coins, wins trigger when three symbols land across the middle row, which starts the Bonus Game and locks icons in place.

Habanero has launched Happy Hatchlings, a new fantasy-themed slot set in a “magical dragon kingdom”. The game runs on a 5×3 reel set-up with 243 ways to win. Its core feature is the Ice Mother Wild, which triggers a screen-wide transformation where “every matching egg symbol on the screen converts into a powerful dragon symbol simultaneously,” according to the company.

Genting Casino Online has launched Money Gong Empress, a new online slot from IGT, as an exclusive title for its players. The five-reel game uses IGT’s Money Gong mechanic and includes Hold and Win-style gameplay, prize modifiers, “Money Balls”, bonus features, and free games with expanding wilds, according to the company.

Amusnet has expanded its premium slot portfolio with the launch of Amaterasu’s Treasures x1000, a captivating new video slot that combines rich mythology-inspired storytelling with engaging mechanics and high-win potential. Drawing inspiration from Amaterasu Ōmikami, the revered Japanese sun goddess, the title invites players to explore the celestial realm of Takamagahara.

Spinomenal has launched a new slot title, 3 Scarabs Of Rebirth, expanding its Egyptian-themed content catalogue. The game is a 5×3 reel video slot built around a Hold & Hit-style bonus. In the base game, the Pharaoh serves as the Wild and substitutes for all symbols except the Bonus, Boost, Collect, Multi and Jackpot symbols

Gaming Corps has launched 3 Pigs of Independence Hog & Win, a new title in its 3 Pigs slot series. The Sweden-based, publicly listed developer said the game is themed around US Independence Day. The game runs on a 3×5 grid with 243 ways to win. Gaming Corps said it is built around “Hog & Win”, its pig-themed take on Hold & Win.

Booming Games has launched Booming Buffalo Hold and Win Extreme 25,000, a new entry in its Buffalo Hold and Win slot series. The title uses a 5×3 grid with 25 fixed paylines and increases the top payout to 25,000x, according to the company. In the base game, coin symbols can trigger the Buffalo Bonus feature, awarding a spin on the Buffalo Bonus Wheel.

ICONIC21 has launched Buffalo 250 Anniversary, a Fourth of July-themed slot created to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary. The game is centered on a buffalo and set against Independence Day fireworks, using imagery associated with US identity and the country’s upcoming semi quincentennial.

The post Weekend Reels | Week 27: Slot Drops & Trends appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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QTech signs InOut Games distribution deal for emerging markets

Published

1 hour ago

July 3, 2026

Wladimir P.

qtech-signs-inout-games-distribution-deal-for-emerging-markets

QTech has signed a content distribution agreement with supplier InOut Games to roll out the studio’s games to operators in emerging markets via QTech’s aggregation platform. The companies announced the deal on 3 July 2026.

Under the agreement, QTech will integrate InOut Games’ portfolio, which the supplier said now totals nearly 70 titles in under two years. InOut Games is best known for its crash game Chicken Road and has since expanded into slots, including Chicken Royal, Joker Pyre, Ice Fish, and Fruits Love Fever.

Vlad Snak, CEO at InOut Games, said: “QTech Games is a hotbed for superior games and a rarefied air for the player experience. We are rapidly widening our gaming suite and scope across developing regions and their market-leading platform provides an agile pathway to some previously overlooked territories. Needless to say, agreeing this new deal tracks our core strategy to fully leverage our reach, and we look forward to seeing how new audiences embrace our games.”

Philip Doftvik, CEO at QTech, added: “After a breakout beginning in the crash games domain, InOut Games is now proving itself as a broader provider of thrilling and innovative casino content, with a focus on creating quality, cutting-edge slots that are delivered reliably to our partners via our premier platform – on time, every time. Like us, they understand that localised solutions comprise the key to success across this patchwork quilt of opportunities.”

The post QTech signs InOut Games distribution deal for emerging markets appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Buffalo 250 Anniversary

ICONIC21 launches Buffalo 250 Anniversary slot themed around US 250th

Published

2 hours ago

July 3, 2026

Wladimir P.

iconic21-launches-buffalo-250-anniversary-slot-themed-around-us-250th

Fourth of July-themed release reflects the studio’s push for market-specific content in regulated US-facing iGaming.

ICONIC21 has launched Buffalo 250 Anniversary, a Fourth of July-themed slot created to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary.

The game is centered on a buffalo and set against Independence Day fireworks, using imagery associated with US identity and the country’s upcoming semi quincentennial.

ICONIC21 said the release reflects its focus on building content around themes and player preferences that resonate in specific markets, with the US described as an increasingly important market for its partners and a key source of player engagement. The company develops live casino, RNG and slots content for regulated operators.

“The Fourth of July is one of those occasions that is recognised far beyond the United States, and the country’s 250th anniversary makes it especially significant,” said Edvardas Sadovskis, Chief Product Officer at ICONIC21. “The theme combines a distinctly American symbol with a moment that has real cultural relevance for players and operators alike.”

ICONIC21 added that it works with operators to shape its roadmap around player data, market demand and local relevance, and that it assesses follow-on titles using internal views, performance data and operator feedback. The provider said it has expanded beyond a classic casino portfolio — including roulette, baccarat and blackjack — into RNG and slots while keeping a market-specific focus for regulated environments.

The post ICONIC21 launches Buffalo 250 Anniversary slot themed around US 250th appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.