Canada’s gambling industry sees surge in digital fraud: Report

TransUnion Canada’s latest report outlines the alarming trends in digital fraud during the first half of 2024 attempts across various industries, with the gambling industry standing out as a primary target.
According to the report, particularly online sports betting and poker, of the gambling sector, recorded the highest rate of suspected fraud attempts.

Gambling leads in fraud attempts

The reports shows that the gambling industry rated highest for suspected digital fraud attempts with a rate of 9.6 percent. This includes online sports betting and poker as well.
Online gambling has been booming since its legalisation in the Canadian province of Ontario in 2023, is now suffering with an uptick in fraud attempts. This surge raises concerns for both operators and players, as digital fraud can severely impact trust and user experience. Around 47 registered iGmaing operators offer local players access to 77 regulated sites.
After gambling retail and government remains the most affected sector with 9.2 percent and 7.7 percent respectively.

Year-over-year increase a cause for alarm

In addition to the high fraud rates, the gambling industry also saw a sharp year-over-year increase in suspected fraud attempts, with a staggering 79.3 percent rise. This puts gambling second on the list of industries with the highest year-over-year growth in fraud activity. The rapid rise in fraud attempts underscores the need for advanced protection strategies.

Patrick Boudreau, Head of Identity Management and Fraud Solutions at TransUnion Canada, stressed the importance of prioritising fraud prevention. He said, “Protecting customers and their businesses from fraud is essential to enabling safe and tailored consumer experiences. These findings reveal that despite the good-faith efforts that are being undertaken by companies to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve and it’s vital that fraud prevention methods keep up with the changing times.
“Businesses that aren’t already doing so should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies such as identity verification, IP intelligence, device reputation and synthetic identity detection as critical components of their fraud prevention programs.”

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