How to avoid sports betting scams

Today with 88STARZ Partners team we’ll discuss scam in affiliate marketing — a frequent phenomenon that is not often talked about, although it deserves close attention. It’s common for both affiliate networks and programs, as well as among unscrupulous webmasters. This tendency can be damaging to the company because it affects the reputation and advertising budget.

Even legitimate websites that exclusively operate with white offers are not immune to scams. Therefore, it’s critical to recognize the first signals of fraud as soon as possible. In this topic, we’ll talk about how webmasters and advertisers protect themselves from betting scam and provide proper solutions when the offer receives low-quality traffic. 

What is fraud in affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a highly profitable vertical not only for professional webmasters, but also for scammers looking to get money on it through various misleading actions. Its scale is clearly reflected in Astute Analytica’s research: in 2023, the global affiliate marketing industry was worth over $17 billion per year and is projected to reach nearly $40 billion by 2031.

Fraud in affiliate marketing refers to any dishonest behaviors or activities that manipulate traffic for financial advantage. For instance, when site visits are generated by automated algorithms that send out low-quality traffic rather than real people.

Fraud actions have a direct impact on the advertisers’ ROI (return on investment). Let’s name its main negative effects:

• Budget showdown.
  Low-quality traffic leads to wasting budget on fake clicks or conversions.
• Alteration of the data analysis.
  Fraud fakes real data, making it difficult to apply appropriate marketing decisions.
• Reputational risks.
  Advertisers lose trust in webmasters, which harms long-term partnerships.
• Decrease in the quality of traffic.
  Real users will be flooded with spam or directed to fake websites, reducing the overall effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

For a complete picture, let’s move on to the most common variations of fraud traffic.

Types of fraud traffic

Scammers can run several sorts of fraudulent traffic, including:

• Bot traffic:

Webmasters use bots to run traffic to betting websites and online casinos. While bots are becoming more sophisticated, anti-fraud systems are also constantly improving. Bots can successfully pass standard checks such as address verification and CAPTCHA, but they still fail to mimic the behavior of a real player.

• Fraud traffic:

This type of traffic may be less relevant in case of iGaming vertical. For example, making a deposit or creating an account is required as a targeted action. However, fraudsters discover ways to get around this obstacle, such as by creating fake accounts, making counterfeit deposits, or by bonus farming.

• Motivated traffic:

This type of traffic represents real people who perform targeted actions solely for financial gain. It can be a reward for the first deposit, a bonus when downloading a mobile app, free bets for certain actions, etc. Such users are driven simply to meet the first terms of the betting offer, but once the reward is received, he or she quits playing on the website, becoming “dead weight”.

The final variety contains subtypes such as click-fraud (fake clicks on advertising), SDK spoofing fraud (fake application downloads), lead generation fraud (fictitious leads generated by bots), and fraudulent conversion (bots imitating the target action).

How webmasters are involved in Betting scams

Webmasters should be aware that using dishonest tactics while working with affiliate networks might result in significant financial losses. Such activity makes it harder to compensate other legitimate webmasters. Furthermore, fraudulent practices can create significant reputational damage to the brand under which the activity is carried out. Webmasters’ awareness of potential scam can reduce risks, so let’s now outline the most common ways of fraud used by webmasters.

Brand impersonation and identity shifts

Fraudsters can impersonate official representatives of an offer by creating fake websites or brand landing pages in social networks. They post content on behalf of the advertiser, and surely such resources can attract traffic. However, this causes inevitable damage to brand reputation and can outbid contextual advertising. In some cases, such traffic is still accepted if the company applies PPC advertising or is less known in the iGaming market.

Identity shifts involve substituting real user data to disguise the source of traffic and bypass various restrictions. They use fake documents and data to create new accounts, as well as constantly changing information to bypass blocking. They create new Telegram or Skype profiles and update contact information to hide earlier actions and prevent any blockages.

Spam

Spam in affiliate marketing refers to the mass sending of undesired messages in order to drive traffic or conversions. To generate the appearance of activity in this type of invasive advertising, the webmaster uses bots or automated systems to send bulk messages through fake emails, SMS, or push notifications. 

Spam generates low-quality traffic, increases the risk of being blacklisted, and creates a negative brand opinion among the target audience.

Copout answers and fake statistics

Some webmasters avoid direct answers to questions about their experience and achievements. This is especially true when they are just starting out with an affiliate program, when experience is carefully considered before entering into a partnership. Usually, they insist only on providing a link to the offer to demonstrate the quality of traffic. Such fraudsters will never share real statistics and shy away from straight answers. 

Such stats involve faking reporting data like clicks and conversions to create the appearance of a successful click-through rate (CTR). This can include fake reports of previous cases with advertisers or fabricated reviews. To offer such figures, scammers employ programs to generate false clicks and conversions, and also modify reports and logs. As a result, advertisers suffer financial losses and receive an inaccurate picture of advertising campaign efficacy.

Bypassing anti-fraud systems

Anti-fraud systems are tools that help detect and prevent fraud traffic. They check to what extent real users perform targeted actions, screening out bots, fake clicks and other deceptive actions. Untrustworthy webmasters use a variety of tactics and technology to get around them. For example, changeable IP addresses and VPNs can be used to hide data, as well as complex scripts and bots that simulate real user behavior.

Some fraudsters ask friends or acquaintances for help, so that they cope with targeted actions necessary to fulfill the conditions of the Betting offer. Webmasters pay them to do this, effectively bypassing anti-fraud systems. This makes it harder to detect betting scam in a timely manner, causing financial losses.

Misleading

Dishonest webmasters can entice gamblers by inflating or misrepresenting the nature of their so-called winning offer. For example, if the promotion includes unreal wager for bonus terms: this is already considered as misleading traffic.

Mislead is not profitable neither for the owner of the offer, nor for the affiliate network. However, some gray markets, sportsbooks and online casinos with fake licenses do not pay attention to traffic sources — such websites are ready to pay even for fraudulently attracted users.

Cloaking

Domain spoofing (or cloaking) is a method that allows you to place advertising on platforms where it is prohibited. This is a proven way to bypass moderation on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. Much has been discussed about this phenomena in our previous article.

How come? The system’s algorithms identify one website, but consumers navigate to another. Cloaking, a “gray” type of advertising, has been around for a long time. Sometimes its use is justified, but before dealing with such traffic, it is critical to consult with the advertiser or affiliate network to avoid negative effects.

Other fraud activities

Other red flags include less common fraud methods such as click injection, ad stacking, and so on. These involve triggering clicks at the sports betting app installation stage, placing invisible ads on top of each other.

How advertisers are involved in Betting scams

While most advertisers follow ethical guidelines, some resort to deception to the detriment of webmasters. Here are the main schemes they can use:

Claiming low quality traffic

An advertiser or affiliate network may claim that traffic does not meet quality standards or has not passed the key performance indicators (KPIs) for a particular betting offer. This is often used as a reason to deny a payout, even if in fact the traffic was high-quality.

Changing terms and conditions retroactively

Some advertisers may change the terms of the offers after the traffic has already been generated. This can catch the webmaster by surprise, as the conditions were changed in favor of the advertiser, and as a result he loses his well-deserved payments.

Conversion shaving

An advertiser can falsely reduce the amount of conversions in reports, resulting in lower payouts to webmasters for true leads. This allows the advertiser to save money by using someone else’s work.

Delayed payments

Excessive delays or extending payment terms is another way to frustrate webmasters. The reasons for this may vary, but the goal remains the same: to delay payouts as long as possible.

Sudden end of cooperation

Some advertisers may close their affiliate program unexpectedly, leaving webmasters without the promised payments and the opportunity to claim compensation.

How affiliate programs prevent scams in affiliate marketing

Above we have analyzed possible fraudulent actions on the part of unscrupulous webmasters and advertisers. What can affiliate programs and CPA networks do in response to this? Let’s look at the top methods and tools to detect and prevent fraud.

Hold

A hold is a period of delayed payments to affiliates or partners, designed to check the quality of traffic. In affiliate marketing, hold usually takes 30-60 days, during which the advertiser analyzes the received traffic, assessing its legitimacy and effectiveness. This allows them to detect anomalies and fake activity before payment, reducing the probability of financial losses.

During the hold period, analytics tools can be used to identify suspicious patterns, such as high bounce rates or repeating IP addresses. This allows to screen out fake clicks and conversions, minimizing the risk of betting scam.

Anti-fraud systems

The next thing to look at is monitoring and diagnostic systems. The integration of analytical tools and special anti-fraud platforms allows you to monitor user behavior on the website and identify suspicious actions. 

These technologies can rapidly detect unexpected traffic increases, unusual activity periods, disproportionately high bounce rates, and other anomalies, allowing you to respond quickly and check the source of traffic.

Use of CAPTCHA

An equally important step is the use of CAPTCHA. This option helps to distinguish real users from bots that can scam clicks or registrations on the website.

CAPTCHA is used on all important touchpoints: registration form, feedback form, payment page. This feature can be configured so that it only appears only in case of suspicious actions: for example, multiple attempts to log in with an incorrect password.

Machine learning algorithms

Machine learning can analyze huge amounts of data and identify anomalous patterns of behavior that may indicate fraudulent activity. These algorithms are constantly improving, adapting to new approaches.

Regular A/B tests help in evaluating and improving the performance of machine learning algorithms, identifying the most effective anti-fraud techniques. They help determine which settings or algorithm changes are better at detecting fraudulent activities, which in turn improves the accuracy of filtering suspicious traffic.

Communication with players

Open and active communication with the real users plays a key role in fraud detection. They can report cases of fraud by sharing their stories of how they ended up on a betting site or other online gambling platform. 

For example, players can submit proof of the employment of deceptive creatives or describe how they were pressured into making deposits or to place a bet. Such feedback enables timely detection and prevention of fraud.

Market awareness

Experienced affiliate networks and programs have close contacts with important industry players and closely analyze market trends. This proactive approach enables the quick detection and response to new schemes. 

Because the market is cyclical, many of today’s sports betting scams are upgraded versions of previous ones. As a result, affiliate networks should remain vigilant and adaptable at all times in order to protect interested parties.

Conclusion

Fraud in the Betting vertical refers to any dishonest actions or plans used by scammers to obtain money, bonuses, or other benefits. To prevent the risks that are highlighted in today’s article, a webmaster should work only with an established program.

We at 888STARZ Partners keep a close eye on traffic and use the most advanced technologies to track it. We fully support legitimate arrangements and transparent profits. If you want to protect yourself from betting scams and also value fair dealings in affiliate marketing, reach out to your personal manager!