Two-thirds of new users acquired through promotions may not actually exist, making bonus fraud one of the most damaging threats facing iGaming operators today.
A recent case study highlighted just how severe the problem can be, with a single affiliate campaign generating 314 new accounts for one iGaming platform.
On the surface, everything appeared legitimate, with completed registrations, valid-looking emails, and bonuses claimed without any obvious red flags.
However, a fraud prevention system quickly identified something was deeply wrong with the incoming traffic and the behaviour of those new accounts.
The system flagged unusual device distribution, instant deposit requests, identical device fingerprints across dozens of accounts, and identical payment methods being used repeatedly.
More than 90% of the traffic was traced back to known VPN ranges, a strong indicator that the accounts were not genuine players at all.
All 314 accounts were grouped into 30 clusters sharing devices and following identical patterns of bonus claim, minimum wagering, and immediate payout requests.
The fraud detection system deployed by Frogo applied behavioral analysis, device fingerprinting, and graph-based analysis to flag bonus abusers in real time before losses compounded further.
By isolating fraudulent traffic within a separate segment, the system stopped margin leakage immediately and preserved $25,000 in a single day of operation.
Over the following six months, bonus abuse dropped from 18% down to under 3%, while promo ROI improved from 14% to 32%, significantly extending player lifetime value.
Critically, genuine players registering during the same period were left completely untouched, with no disruption to their experience during the fraud clean-up process.
Modern anti-fraud tools are no longer simply a cost centre designed to block bad actors but a mechanism for unlocking additional revenue and gaining valuable player data.
Bonus abusers will always target iGaming platforms, and the only real question is whether operators are prepared to endure and counter-attack them effectively.
