Online Casino Security: How to Protect the Gaming Site

Entertainment for money faces the actions of criminals more often than other sectors of the economy. There are always risks when dealing with such factors as large amounts of data, highly profitable platforms, bonus distribution, and others.

Experts of the Rosloto company will tell you about the most effective methods of fighting against offenders.

Fraud in the iGaming Field

These are cases when criminals manipulate a casino resource or use it to their advantage. Both individual players and entire companies (for example, competitors) can be involved in illegal activities.

Most often, honest gamblers or groups of customers become victims of scammers. Unlawful actions can be aimed at a digital platform or processing centre, and thousands of consumers and B2B partners of operators get caught in the crossfire.

Hackers go after confidential information, such as:

• personal data of clients;
• financial analytics, as well as accounting and statistical reporting;
• secret information about the company's development plans, future deals, and partnership agreements;
• payment details.

A real success for any criminal would be to take possession of an online casino database. In this case, the work of the iGaming platform will be completely destabilised, and thousands of accounts are going to be stolen. To prevent this from happening, entrepreneurs need to install reliable security software.

How the gambling industry suffers from fraud:

1. Unforeseen expenses. The IBM IT giant has calculated that the average cost of cyber attacks for the sector is $4 billion per year. Some brands recover from crises with minimal costs, while others are forced to close their businesses.
2. Problems with the law. The regulator sets the following tasks that need to be performed by operators: protection of user data, maintenance of a secure Internet connection, and adherence to a reasonable bonus policy. Grave violations can result in huge fines or even revocation of a licence.
3. Reputational risks. A recent survey by the Sift online publication shows that 47% of respondents will abandon the iGaming platform and move elsewhere if they face any risks in the payment process. It does not matter to clients whether the attempted theft was successful or not: they still stop placing bets, and operators bear the costs.

The fight against fraud is a top-priority task for leading gambling regulators, the best software vendors, and payment providers.

Rasmus Sojmark, founder of the SBC exhibitions, noted:

Provision of the security and well-being of players is of the utmost importance to us. As event organisers, we are responsible for the resolution of customer protection issues and the creation of a sustainable and ethical ecosystem.

Common Types of Gambling Fraud

Let us consider the violations that online casino owners face most often:

Multi-Accounting

Its essence lies in the creation of several profiles by one client or a group of players. At first glance, it may seem that they are not related to each other, but this is not true.

If a gambler has more than one account, it opens up additional opportunities for fraudsters. They gain an advantage over honest users, collect various bonuses and benefits, and illegally win seasonal tournaments and quests.

For example, in online poker, if the delinquent controls 6 hands and only 2 people actually participate in the round, the hacker's chances of winning prizes are tripled.

There are several types of fraud with multiple accounts:

1. “Gnoming”. It means the creation of 2–3 profiles to bypass the standard rules of online casinos. For example, a gaming site has restrictions on the maximum bet, as well as daily and weekly limits. Having various accounts circumvents such requirements, and the criminal gets an advantage.
2. Chip dumping. This is a common type of cheating in online poker. When a dishonest player owns multiple pages at the same table, they can maximise the size of bets and steal the users’ money.
3. Bonus abuse. In this case, hackers are after personal rewards in the form of cashback, free spins, and bids on card entertainment. Many of them register on the website with only one goal — to receive a welcome bonus and withdraw it.

A key task of entrepreneurs is to support fair and transparent gameplay. Grave violations can lead to licence revocation and huge reputational losses.

Payment Fraud

Hackers are trying to get the banking information of casino owners and their clients. After that, they can then sell the database to competitors or withdraw funds from customers’ accounts.

Credit Card Manipulation

Having gained access to bank details, the offenders cannot make a direct transfer. Such an action will be instantly recorded by the support service of the financial institution. For this reason, criminals choose to go around: they scroll stolen funds through gaming sites.

Money-Laundering

These are the same manipulations with credit cards but on an especially large scale. We are talking about tens of thousands of dollars that are withdrawn from online casino accounts.

Owners of iGaming projects may be caught plotting with criminals and receive a huge fine. To prevent this from happening, it is important to activate AML payment verification.

Monitoring of transfers is mandatory in many European jurisdictions (the UK, Croatia, and many others). For example, in Germany, entrepreneurs must carry out AML checks for all transactions over €2,000.

Chargeback Fraud

Many banks offer to withdraw funds during the grace period (it is usually 48 hours).

Gamblers often use this service if they lose a large amount of money in an online casino. Customers contact the bank and report that their card was stolen. Then, the financial institution compensates for the risks from the operator’s account, which remains at a loss.

Fake Partnership

Affiliate marketing is an effective way to promote entertainment platforms. However, many entrepreneurs use this method to obtain undue advantage.

To quickly increase the number of registrations, affiliates use bots. Partners quickly receive their rewards, and casino owners lose. Registered accounts are fictitious: they hide bots that are not interested in playing on the resource.

It is worth noting the following aspects:

• Fake partnerships are more common with the CPA (Cost Per Action) payment form. In this case, operators transfer money for each targeted action (such as a click on a banner, a transition to the site, or a registration).
• Collaboration under the RevShare scheme minimises the risks of fraud. The affiliate receives a percentage of the profit, so they are obviously interested in attracting real and solvent customers.

The Use of AI Bots

Artificial intelligence can not only bring benefits to the iGaming sector but also openly harm.

This happens when technology is used by hackers. They turn to AI to create bots that unlawfully gain access to accounts, steal personal data, and commit other illegal activities.

How to Protect Online Casinos Against Intruders

Let us consider the most popular and affordable options:

Encryption

This is a reliable way to make sure that nobody steals confidential information. It is based on encoding the data transferred between the gambler's device and the casino server and cannot be read without the correct decryption key. Only authorised parties can access private sources, and hackers are not included in this category of users.

It is possible to encrypt:

• log-in credentials;
• names;
• addresses;
• bank details;
• geolocation data, etc.

Popular algorithms used on iGaming platforms are:

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL);
• Advanced Encryption Standard (AES);
• Transport Layer Security (TLS).

All such schemes act as an additional safety level, making it extremely hard to perform fraudulent actions (such as identity theft or hacker attacks).

Two-Factor Verification

The 2FA mechanism provides access to a gaming site or mobile betting application only after sending several proofs. Customers need to confirm that they own the account and are not just someone who knows the correct password.

Most often, players have to enter a secret code. It is sent in the form of an SMS message to the mobile phone number specified during registration.

The presence of a 2FA system on a gambling platform complicates:

• theft of user data;
• information leakage;
• bonus manipulation.

If the two-factor verification does not work, the account holder receives a suspicious activity alert. After that, they can notify online casino managers about it, thus protecting personal data and savings.

Many iGaming platforms go even further and use three-factor authentication instead of a 2FA system. In this case, players need to confirm their identity using biometrics or send a geolocation.

The 3FA mechanism helps protect the resource from offshore scammers. This type of Internet traffic may result in the revocation of the operator's licence. In most countries, it is considered illegal to accept bets from foreign clients.

Firewall

The solution acts as a barrier that blocks unauthorised access to the casino system and information about gamblers.

The firewall can monitor incoming and outgoing traffic (only approved data is allowed to pass through, and any malicious activity is immediately blocked).

The installation of the product protects online casinos against:

• DDoS attacks;
• obfuscation (reverse learning) of program code;
• unauthorised system failures;
• phishing;
• introduction of utilities and other malicious components.

iGaming Security Software

This is a universal solution for virtual gambling establishments. It works synergistically and makes sure that the platforms are not subject to external or internal threats.

Entrepreneurs do not need to worry about technical failures, data breaches, account manipulation, and other fraudulent schemes.

Moreover, the program informs operators about new types of threats that have appeared on the Internet and studies the experience of competitors to effectively combat them. Businessmen receive well-thought-out software that is prepared to ward off any external interference.

The security solution is provided by the following famous brands:

• TransUnion;
• Featurespace;
• 4Stop;
• Accertify;
• AcuityTec;
• Alpha Protection, and many others.

How Market Leaders Fight Attackers Hackers

Today, top software vendors pay special attention to the security issue. They not only create bright and interesting content for clients (games and tournament series) but also protect users and B2B partners.

Playtech

The European manufacturer offers a comprehensive solution for risk management. It can be ordered along with the company’s unique entertainment library.

The main modules of the Playtech Protect program:

1. BetBuddy. The platform analyses responsible gambling criteria and contains tools for self-restraint and self-control, as well as reminders about betting or time limits and other useful functions.
2. TruNarrative. The module monitors the activity of players. It initiates the verification of documents and biometric data in real time, detects fraud during the registration process, indicates abnormal behaviour, etc.
3. MultiCheck Verification Gateway. Additional checking of payments for compliance with AML and FATF policies.
4. Featurespace. This is an artificial intelligence-based fraud detection engine that uses adaptive behavioural analytics.

Slotegrator

The provider has created a universal risk management module. It can be smoothly integrated into the brand’s solutions and added to the functionality of an already-launched casino resource.

The software performs several tasks:

• collects and analyses terabytes of information;
• identifies patterns and anomalies;
• tracks the activity of gamblers, affiliates, and other related parties.

The software identifies clients with multiple accounts, bots, and users with signs of ludomania. Operators receive comprehensive data on each group of customers and instructions for minimising risks.

The Main Things about Fraud in the Gambling Niche

The industry is exposed to hacker attacks more than other sectors of the economy.

• Criminals are after confidential information. This includes personal data of clients, bank details, financial and accounting reports, plans for cooperation or merger, and other aspects.
• Offenders usually perform such activities as multi-accounting, payment and credit card fraud, and fake partnerships. The casino sphere is also suffering from bonus theft and the use of AI-based bots.
• Encryption, two-factor verification, and firewall installation are effective methods of protecting online casinos. Moreover, entrepreneurs can choose a security program. The product is aimed at preventing both external and internal threats.

To protect a gaming site, we recommend that you buy high-quality software from the Rosloto studio. We offer software from licensed providers with an excellent reputation in the market.

From us, it is also possible to order the following useful services:

• creation of a turnkey digital casino;
• platform connection under the White Label scheme;
• assistance in obtaining a licence, and much more.