The Casino Doesn’t Always Win: Multi-Accounting, Bonus Abuse and Biometric KYC

Key takeaways

• In 2015, Danish player Daniel Christiansen opened over 200 fake accounts on PokerStars under different IDs to claim welcome bonuses, then used specialized programs and scripts to play those accounts against each other and move the bonuses between them.
• The scheme fell apart before he could withdraw any money: the PokerStars security team spotted the suspicious activity, investigated it and cancelled all of his winnings; he was banned from gaming platforms and faced legal prosecution.
• Online casino fraud exploits weak user identification: bonus hunting, multi-accounting and other forms of cheating. Nearly a decade after this case, many scammers still rely on much the same techniques.
• The article names biometric KYC (Know Your Customer) verification as the most effective countermeasure, because it authenticates a user's identity and prevents fraud associated with stolen or forged identification data.
• The biometric KYC check it describes combines three technologies — liveness detection (selfie), document recognition (both sides of the ID) and face-to-face matching of the selfie against the document photo — placed at key points such as withdrawals and during gameplay.

There's a popular belief that casinos always win. With online casinos, that isn't always true.

In 2015, a Danish player, Daniel Christiansen, caused a major scandal on the PokerStars platform. He opened over 200 fake accounts under different IDs to claim welcome bonuses.

Christiansen cleverly operated all of these accounts simultaneously, using specialized programs and scripts to participate in poker games against his own accounts. By manipulating the outcomes, he transferred bonuses between accounts, effectively losing to himself.

His plan fell apart before he could withdraw any money. The PokerStars security team spotted the suspicious activity, investigated it, and canceled all of Christiansen's winnings. He was banned from gaming platforms and faced legal prosecution.

The Challenge of Online Casino Fraud

As online gambling grew, so did scams that exploit weak user identification. Fraudsters use bonus hunting, multi-accounting, and other forms of cheating. Nearly a decade after Christiansen's scheme, many scammers still rely on much the same techniques.

A Modern Solution: Biometric KYC Verification

Today, the most effective way to combat fraudulent activities in online casinos is biometric KYC (Know Your Customer) verification. This technology authenticates a user's identity and prevents fraud associated with stolen or forged identification data.

Biometric.Vision, the team behind this blog, built a biometric KYC check for the gaming industry and places it at key points, such as withdrawals and during gameplay. It is designed to counter fraud tied to multi-accounting, forks, drops, and ghosting.

How the KYC Check Works

The KYC verification system described here identifies users with three technologies:

• Liveness Detection: the user takes a selfie, and the system checks that a live person is in front of the camera. Photos, videos, and masks don't get through.
• Document Recognition: the user scans both sides of their ID document with a smartphone camera. The system extracts text, numeric, and graphical data and stores it in a secure database for verification.
• Face-to-Face Detection: the system compares the user's selfie with the photo from the scanned document and confirms that they match.

The aim is a check that is fast and fair to the user.

Stay Ahead of Fraud

Scammers keep changing their methods, and businesses have to change faster.

The original article was last updated on June 13, 2023.

Originally published on Biometric.Vision blog: https://biometric.vision/blog/casino-doesnt-always-win