When (not if) bonus abusers strike, it’s crucial for online businesses to be prepared. Forming part of most online casinos’ marketing arsenal, bonuses are used as part of the incentives and loyalty program to attract new customers and reward repeat visitors. Posing a real threat to the long-term stability of online businesses, operators undoubtedly rely on this method to drive retention and sustained growth, so what’s the solution here?
Unfortunately, the concept of ‘free money’ tends to attract both fraudsters and genuine customers, with bonus abusers making use of multi-accounting and other underhanded tactics to cheat the system and ultimately rob the casino of as much as 15% of their gross profit over time.
Of course, hearing it from the experts only confirms all this, which is why we asked NoDepositFan what they think: “When it comes to online casino bonuses, the most popular ones—like free spins, win real money no deposit bonuses, and match deposit offers—are exactly what players look for, but also what bonus abusers target the most. These promotions are meant to be fun and rewarding, but without proper controls, they can quickly become a vulnerability for operators.”
Bonus abuse is a growing concern in the iGaming world, where savvy users exploit loopholes in promotions to maximize profit with minimal risk. For casino operators, the challenge lies in balancing attractive offers with strong safeguards. From advanced KYC checks to behavioral analytics, preventing abuse requires a smart, data-driven approach.
What Defines a Bonus Abuser?
Essentially, a bonus abuser is a player that actively looks for new ways to exploit casino promotions while bending the rules to maximize their gain. Typical telltale signs for these individuals often include one or multiple variations of the following:
- These users will typically deposit and wager the minimum amount required to redeem the bonus.
- They’ll usually create several player accounts to take advantage of welcome bonuses despite breaching the T&Cs.
- They’ll go through loads of bonus funds but barely use any of their own.
- They’ll disappear once they’ve claimed all the bonuses available.
- Most times this is a new user that will only interact with the brand for this specific reason.
The good news here is that by identifying this behavior and implementing various anti bonus abuse strategies within your marketing plan you’re able to counteract this behavior efficiently. Here’s how.
How Bonus Fraud Happens in Online Casinos
One of the simplest ways for fraudsters to exploit online bonuses is by creating multiple fake profiles which allow them to claim welcome bonuses more than once. This practice known as multi-accounting uses advanced technologies like Tor web browsers and VPN software to hide their online activity, making it harder for operators to identify them and stop them in their tracks.
While bonus abuse methods vary including cross and arbitrage betting, chip dumping, and bonus hunting, all of them threaten the financial stability of any gaming platform as well as potentially compromising the fairness of the industry overall. Of course, one of the main issues here includes weak ID verification by the operator, which could effectively detect early signs of fraudulent activity.
For this reason, casinos fight back with stricter and more complex terms and conditions, stringent player activity surveillance, as well as continuous monitoring as part of their KYC procedures.
Identifying Bonus Abuse
Being aware of the red flags and identifying bonuses abusers is the first step towards fighting this unethical practice as an online operator. Here are a couple of useful strategies to keep in mind.
- Maximize technology usage – making use on the latest software can help you identify patterns, discrepancies, and potential bonus abuse. By analyzing vast amounts of data, these tools can help in flagging suspicious activity while providing additional insights that enhance detection.
- Analyze betting patterns – always be mindful of players that tend to immediately place max bets or high-risk wagers, as well as exhibiting other patterns that could indicate they’re heavily focused on reaching the wagering requirements.
- Track IPs – by keeping an eye out for multiple accounts that stem from the same IP address you should be able to identify potential abuse faster. However, bear in mind that sometimes IPs are shared among family members which could lead to a false positive.
- Review withdrawals – by considering any requests for withdrawal, especially if they’ve been requested within a short time of claiming a large bonus, you might be onto something. Generally speaking, large and frequent withdrawals without the corresponding level of average gameplay is considered a no go.
- Observe player interaction – if you receive an influx of certain users playing together or engaging in unusual betting practices in unison, then you’re going to want to investigate that.
Anti-Abuse Marketing Strategies
Once you’ve identified your perpetrators and flagged their account, it’s time to move on and implement various marketing practices that, over time, should help to reduce the number of bonus abusers.
- Sharpen your T&Cs – define fair and clear rules for your bonus and ensure this is well communicated. In this part it would be helpful to explain the purpose of the bonus while highlighting that it’s intended for the genuine enjoyment of gameplay. Encourage players to adopt responsible gaming practices while keeping things fun.
- Segment your player base – by identifying segments that appear more prone to abuse than others, you’re automatically able to exclude these from future bonuses to protect against potential fraud.
- Set limits – by implementing restrictions on the frequency and number of bonuses offered to players, you’re able to maintain better control of how your promotions are claimed.
- Create interesting alternatives – rather than solely relying on classic bonus structures, get creative and consider introducing different programs which might deter bonus abuse. Popular options here include cashbacks, bespoke offers, exclusive perks, along with VIP and loyalty programs among others.
- Get personal – rather than punishing fraudsters, consider providing personalized feedback first that offers guidance and support with regards to responsible gaming practices. By doing so, you’re able to highlight the negative impact of their actions while suggesting an alternative approach, which might steer them away from repeating this activity in the future.
Be heard – by communicating with your players regularly, you’re able to educate them about the importance of responsible gaming as well as the consequences of bonus fraud. By sharing tutorials, articles, and other relevant material you’re able to shed light further light on the matter and its potential repercussions.