The landscape of online betting and gaming has seen a significant evolution in the tactics employed by fraudsters over the past decade. With the advent of advanced AI models in 2022 and 2023, the capabilities of these fraudsters have expanded, leading to severe repercussions for iGaming operators.
According to Sumsub, between 2022 and 2024, fraud in the online gaming sector surged, averaging a 64% year-over-year increase. A primary concern that emerged during this period is bonus abuse, with fraudsters increasingly utilizing AI, automation, and synthetic identities to take advantage of promotional offers.
In response to these challenges, EveryMatrix introduced Bonus Guardian in late 2025, employing AI-powered technology in the ongoing fight against AI-driven fraud.
"Bonus Guardian was developed in response to a clear industry challenge," said Tetiana Dychenko, chief technical officer for casino at EveryMatrix. "Bonus abuse has evolved far beyond what manual reviews and static rule-based systems can effectively address. As organized fraud groups began employing AI, automation, and sophisticated behavioral tactics, EveryMatrix recognized that operators needed a targeted solution focused specifically on bonus abuse rather than generic fraud detection."
The platform analyzes numerous signals such as gameplay behavior, deposit patterns, wagering progression, and bonus redemption exercises. This collaborative development involved a range of specialists, including AI and machine learning experts, product teams, fraud specialists, CRM professionals, and casino experts.
According to Dychenko, the amalgamation of technical expertise and operational insight ensures that the solution caters to the complexities of contemporary fraud and aligns with the commercial realities faced by operators in promotional campaigns.
Bonus Guardian is designed to support operators throughout the entire promotion lifecycle. It aids in crafting promotions prior to their launch in a manner that remains appealing to genuine players while minimizing opportunities for exploitation. Once a promotion is underway, the platform continuously evaluates player behavior across various metrics such as registration, deposits, gameplay, wagering, bonus usage, and withdrawals. Instead of relying exclusively on fixed rules, it constructs a behavioral profile for every player, pinpointing patterns indicative of non-genuine activity or coordinated abuse.
When suspicious behavior is detected, operators receive a risk assessment along with a clear explanation of the underlying factors. Depending on the risk level, they can respond by monitoring activities, limiting promotional participation, implementing additional wagering requirements, or reviewing withdrawals further.
"The strength of Bonus Guardian lies in behavioral intelligence," Dychenko emphasized. "This platform processes hundreds of signals simultaneously, spotting relationships and patterns across multiple accounts that would be nearly impossible to detect manually."
As operators navigate tightening KYC, anti-money laundering, and bonus regulations, the need to provide seamless onboarding and rewarding promotions remains crucial. EveryMatrix has designed Bonus Guardian to uphold the experience for legitimate players.
"One of the platform's strengths is that it enables proportionate responses rather than binary decisions," Dychenko said.
While fraudsters are using advanced techniques like AI-generated identities and VPNs to bypass traditional verification methods, actual player behavior is much harder to disguise. Consequently, Bonus Guardian discerns genuine customer engagement from organized bonus abuse through its detailed analysis of player interactions over time.
The solution, integrated into EveryMatrix’s EngageSuite Bonuses for both casino and sports, encourages collaboration between marketing and risk management teams. This ensures that promotions are crafted with fraud-risk parameters in mind, effectively integrating contextual controls tied to promotion logic. "Bonus Guardian unites marketing and risk functions around a common goal: maximizing promotional ROI," Dychenko stated.
With this alignment, marketing can create campaigns that enhance acquisition and retention, while risk management gains valuable insights into player behavior, pinpointing vulnerabilities before they escalate into major issues.
Promotions such as tournaments and loyalty programs are structured to foster sustained engagement, which genuine players find appealing compared to organized fraudsters seeking quick gains. This approach results in enhanced campaign performance and reduced promotional losses.
The significance of protecting bonus investments has pivoted to become a key driver of profitability, especially with promotional leakage possibly constituting 10%-15% of bonus expenditures amidst growing taxes and stricter regulations. By ensuring that promotional budgets benefit real players rather than fraud groups, operators utilizing Bonus Guardian can enhance return on investment and marketing efficiency.
The platform’s adaptability also extends to addressing various gambling fraud methods, such as multi-account rings, synthetic identities, and proxy networks, enabling operators to customize risk thresholds, workflows, and promotional regulations to align with their specific needs.
"Every confirmed fraud case, operator review, and behavioral outcome helps refine the underlying models," Dychenko remarked. Continuous learning is integral to Bonus Guardian, allowing it to evolve alongside new fraud tactics without necessitating constant updates from operators.
There is no singular metric that defines success in combating bonus abuse; instead, multiple factors come into play, including improved detection accuracy and lower false-positive rates, as well as quicker investigation times and the system's ability to identify emerging abuse patterns.
Given the growing threat of fraud, operators must remain vigilant. According to Sumsub's iGaming Fraud Report 2026, bonus abuse now constitutes nearly two-thirds of all fraud in the sector. Between the first quarters of 2025 and 2026, suspicious transactions in online gaming surged by 350%, with the average transaction value nearly doubling to over €6,000.
A report by LexisNexis in March 2026 revealed that 78% of operators view bonus abuse as their most significant fraud challenge, and 57% report direct fraud losses as the major negative business impact.
“Bonus abuse will continue to evolve, becoming more automated and increasingly harder to differentiate from legitimate activity,” Dychenko warned. Fraudsters are becoming adept at using AI for analyzing promotions and creating synthetic identities. To combat these advancements, operators will require equally progressive technology.
As the challenges surrounding bonus abuse continue to mount, it is crucial for operators to take proactive measures. Those investing in solutions like Bonus Guardian will be better positioned to lessen the financial toll of fraud in a landscape marked by unpredictability.
