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Where there’s a way to make a profit, there will always be people who are going to try to cheat the system in order to benefit from it. This rule also applies to gambling, both in-person and online entertainment. One such way people try to cheat the system is called bonus abuse.
What is Bonus Abuse?
Bonus abuse is the practice of repeatedly joining up for a service utilizing promotional offers that are typically only meant to be used once by new members.
This practice, known as multi-accounting in the fraud world, frequently targets no-deposit freebies like free spins or free money. And there are many great bonuses players can choose from, for instance, in the proud Great Lakes State which has only launched the online casino industry in early 2021. There are many Michigan no deposit bonuses on the market, so finding such bonuses won’t be an issue.
Bonus abuse mostly affects casino, sports betting, and poker websites, but any company that leverages signup incentives as a marketing strategy can be in danger.
Bonus Abuse in Online Gaming
Most websites struggle to figure out when a single user has multiple accounts. As a result, bonus abusers may simply register using many identities in order to earn a welcome bonus multiple times. As long as they stay undetected, they can keep cashing out and repeating the process.
This practice is not only widespread, but it is also extremely profitable, leading many criminals to commit major financial resources to expand their fraudulent operations. Some even go so far as to get identities through false job advertisements or KYC forms.
An iGaming company’s bonuses are essential to its success. These promotional offers, whether signup, reload, welcome, or no-deposit bonuses, are often the most reliable strategy to expand and cultivate a base of devoted players.
This is why bonus abuse is so harmful. You run the real danger of placing your business at considerable long-term risk if scammers are successful in taking advantage of your bonuses.
How Does Bonus Abuse Work?
Bonus abuse involves scammers registering new accounts many times, using a bonus, and withdrawing money right away. The abuse will continue as long as individuals can get away with it.
Therefore, the multi-accounting issue is frequently one of the main problems that iGaming businesses face.
It encourages criminals to open as many new accounts as they can by using fake identities, stolen IDs, and information from prepaid credit cards to get around KYC checks. It inevitably results in problems with compliance and regulation.
Bonus Abuse is frequently carried out by sophisticated, well-funded criminal organizations with big-scale operations. Bonus abuse is more advantageous to fraudsters the more resources they have to register accounts.
How to Detect & Prevent Bonus Abuse
How can an online casino or a sportsbook detect bonus abuse?
Blocking dangerous regions. Because bonus hunting has historically been more prevalent in Eastern Europe, the majority of operators won’t issue incentives to new customers from those regions.
Untrustworthy IP addresses. Does a user utilize a VPN? Are they visiting a website via the TOR browser? What about residential proxies that are blacklisted? These are all red flags for a casino.
Suspicious devices. Are the characteristics of a device unique, or does it seem like someone else with a suspiciously identical device has already shown up on the site?
How can a casino prevent bonus abuse?
Adding more complicated bonus regulations. For instance, having stringent withdrawal specifications or wagering requirements where customers must wager the bonus amount many times before they can withdraw it.
Reducing bonus payments. This is a simple cure to stop the company from losing money quickly.