Anti-Fraud in Micropayments: Bookmakers’ Security

In the gambling industry, where every second and click can turn into real money, microtransactions have become a factor in the improvement of the user experience. However, along with convenience and speed, a new wave of threats has come: fraud, multi-accounting, and money laundering through cryptocurrency.

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About the Concept

This is an advanced financial infrastructure that allows bettors to deposit and withdraw small amounts quickly, conveniently, and anonymously across various channels:

• bank cards (Visa, Mastercard);
• electronic wallets (Skrill, Neteller, and PayPal);
• prepaid cards (Paysafecard);
• mobile transfers (Apple Pay or Google Pay);
• cryptocurrencies.

Payments are made in large volumes and with high frequency, which requires bookmakers and financial systems to process them quickly and protect against fraud.

Microtransaction Scam in Gambling

Today, such settlements have become an integral part of digital betting. Players are happy to make small deposits using available channels.

At the same time, mini-transfers create a favourable ground for fraud: chargebacks, machinations with anonymous accounts, money laundering, and other offenses. This problem is felt acutely when there is a large volume of operations and during peak periods of load on the IT infrastructure of an iGaming startup.

Current State of Affairs

According to industry analysts and such payment systems as SEON, Juniper Research, and TransUnion:

• 30% of all registration attempts at bookmaker offices are suspicious;
• every 20th transaction is associated with an attempt at fraud;
• 40% of all chargebacks are micropayments;
• 20% of criminals use automation (bots or scripts).

According to the SEON iGaming Fraud Trends 2025 report, about 12% of all mini-transfers during promotional or bonus campaigns are made from fake accounts using virtual cards and proxy servers.

Basic Fraud Schemes

Let us consider the problems that entrepreneurs most often face:

• Multi-accounting — the creation of dozens of fake accounts to receive incentives and winnings.
• Chargeback fraud — cancellation of deposits through the bank after using the funds.
• Fake verifications — provision of fake KYC documents to enter the bookmaker site, as well as from those countries where sports betting is prohibited (in this case, it is necessary to use a VPN).
• Fraud through cryptocurrency — deposits from non-existent wallets and participation in money laundering.

Why Risk Management in Micropayments is Important

It is the key to successful, highly profitable, and safe work in the entertainment market.

Compliance with Regulatory Requirements

The activities of operators must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and customer identification (KYC) laws.

The lack of proper control leads to:

• revocation of licences;
• multimillion-dollar fines;
• blocking of payment channels.

As practice shows, microtransactions are increasingly used by fraudsters to bypass AML and KYC requirements, especially when working with cryptocurrency or prepaid cards.

Financial Stability

With a large volume of mini-transfers, even a small percentage of fraudulent activities leads to significant monetary losses. Such actions can take away a large portion of the bookmaker's income.

Reputational Risks

Unauthorised write-offs, bonus abuse, temporary blocking, and many other actions create a negative image of iGaming brands.

Ineffective risk management of settlements leads to:

• decreased customer confidence;
• increased requirements from auditors and regulators;
• noncooperation from payment providers and partner services.

Growth of Automated Threats

Microtransactions are often processed in real-time. Criminals use this to their advantage by performing the following actions:

• initiation of attacks using bots;
• bonus abuse scaling;
• activation of money laundering schemes through small deposits and withdrawals.

The higher the volume of such operations, the greater the probability of fraud.

Complexity of the Detection of Such an Offense

Unlike large transactions, small payments are easier to disguise under a legitimate activity.

To successfully combat attackers, it is necessary to integrate advanced security systems with the following elements:

• behavioural analytics;
• machine learning;
• geoanalytics;
• device fingerprinting.

Anti-Fraud Methods in the System of Micropayments

Let us consider the key approaches and technologies used in the gambling niche.

Machine Learning and Behavioural Analytics

Programs based on artificial intelligence study the following actions of bettors in real-time:

• frequency and speed of transactions;
• geolocation and login devices;
• deviations from typical patterns;
• comparison with profiles of “normal” clients.

For example, the SEON platform offers advanced solutions for identifying hidden links between accounts and determining the digital footprints of scammers. Software connection reduces the level of fraud by 50% in the first 3 months of operation.

Multi-Factor Verification (KYC/AML)

With a large flow of micropayments, it is important for bookmakers to exclude anonymous and fake accounts.

The launch of a specific identification of players will ensure:

• verification of ID, selfies, and biometrics;
• reconciliation with sanction databases and PEP lists;
• analysis of the sources of funds;
• setting limits on deposits until full authentication is completed.

Transaction Scoring

Each transfer receives a comprehensive assessment according to several parameters, including:

• the speed of operations;
• the clients’ behaviour on the betting site before and after making a deposit;
• the use of VPN, proxy, TOR, and other tools;
• the history of transactions.

The scoring model can reject operations in real-time, suspend the withdrawal of funds, or request additional verification.

The world’s leading gambling companies already use Riskified, Fraud.net, and other solutions to block suspicious transfers at an early stage.

Payment Pattern Intelligence

With a high volume of deposits, it is important to identify repeating abnormal patterns:

• replenishments from cards of the same BIN group;
• multiple contributions with a minimum amount before withdrawing a big prize;
• synchronous transactions from different accounts but from the same IP address.

For example, Betway and Betsson brands use automated pattern analysis to combat the networks of bots and money laundering.

Blocking by Geolocation and Gadgets

The implementation of Device Fingerprinting, IP intelligence, anti-VPN solutions, and other technologies ensures instant identification and ban of:

• device emulators;
• repeated login attempts from one desktop;
• registrations from unsanctioned countries (for example, from jurisdictions where gambling is prohibited).

Chargeback Management

The entertainment niche is exposed to risks associated with refunds in online betting shops, especially with micropayments from cards. The ability to dispute a transaction and return money if there are objective reasons is perceived by fraudsters as a method of manipulation and illegal theft of resources.

High-quality chargeback management and feedback with financial systems will ensure:

• maintenance of the list of “dangerous” BIN cards;
• proactive notification of clients before withdrawing money;
• conclusion of an agreement with PSP on the automatic protection against chargebacks;
• creation of blacklists that include customers with a history of returns.

For example, 888 Holdings has reduced the number of refunds by 35%. The main source of savings is the implementation of a predictive model that signals dangers even before a deposit is made.

Anti-Fraud in Cryptocurrency Microtransactions in Gambling

Today, blockchain transfers are an integral part of the entertainment industry.

Fast, decentralised, and anonymous operations attract both bettors and business owners. This is what makes digital assets a high-risk instrument in terms of financial security, AML, and anti-fraud.

Threats Associated with Blockchain Transactions

Let us consider the difficulties that bookmakers face:

1. Anonymity and bypassing KYC. Cryptocurrency does not require identification by default. This allows for avoiding certain procedures, especially on platforms with a low level of control. Potential risks for casinos and betting sites are financing prohibited activities or circumventing sanctions.
2. Micropayments from illegal wallets. Fraudsters can send small amounts from thousands of addresses to “whiten” digital assets through gaming sites. Because of this, entrepreneurs risk being included in the lists of suspected financial monitoring subjects and blocked.
3. Quick withdrawal after a minimum playing time. Scammers deposit crypto and place several bids to “legalise” funds to instantly withdraw them back to the wallet.
4. Multi-accounting and bonus hunting. This is the creation of several profiles for money laundering, dropping bonuses, or bypassing limits using new addresses of blockchain wallets. Such operations are very difficult to track, especially if the attackers use disposable addresses and anonymous exchanges (DEX).

Anti-Fraud Methods for Crypto Payments

Let us consider effective ways to combat such wrongful actions:

1. Analysis of the origin of funds (Crypto AML Scoring). This is a comprehensive check of the wallet history by several parameters, including the type of counterparty, risk level, connection with sanctioned addresses, etc.
2. Monitoring the behaviour after making a deposit. AI and anti-fraud systems track the frequency and size of bets, attempts of quick withdrawal, and parallel activity from one IP/device. Great attention is also paid to suspicious patterns, for example, 5 bids from one USDT wallet with subsequent quick payouts.
3. Limitation of addresses. Bookmakers can allow the withdrawal of resources only to the number from which the deposit was previously made. Another effective technique is forced verification with the blocking of suspicious accounts.
4. Protocols based on blockchain analytics. Advanced settlement methods allow project owners to carry out KYC/AML verification directly in the distributed ledger environment. Besides, it is also possible to connect decentralised systems. They do not disclose the identity of players but use cryptographic confirmation of the digital wallet’s “reliability”.

The Main Things about the Security of Microtransactions

Key aspects that businessmen should take into account:

• The implementation of security tools will protect bookmakers from reputational losses and ensure their financial stability. Such powerful solutions help brands to comply with regulatory requirements.
• Effective methods for combating fraud in the field of microtransactions include payment screening, geolocation blocking, and analysis of financial templates. Chargeback management and multi-factor verification of clients also give good results.
• For operators accepting digital assets, the integration of blockchain monitoring options, behavioural analytics, and KYC compliance is extremely important.

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