Illegal Bonus Hunting Schemes and How Casinos Track Them

Bonus hunting has evolved from casual promotions exploitation to full-blown fraudulent strategies that threaten the sustainability of many gambling websites. By February 2025, this issue remains a key concern for the security teams of licensed casinos. Let’s delve into what these schemes look like today and how operators combat such behaviour.

What Is Bonus Hunting and Why It’s a Problem

Bonus hunting, also known as bonus abuse, is the act of claiming promotional offers—such as welcome packages, free spins, or deposit matches—without the genuine intention of becoming a long-term player. For the abuser, it’s purely a way to extract value with minimal risk.

This creates significant financial pressure on gambling operators, especially newer ones. Fraudulent activities not only reduce potential profits but also inflate key performance metrics like player acquisition costs and bonus-to-deposit ratios, making the business appear unstable to partners and investors.

By early 2025, some schemes have grown more complex, involving multiple actors or even professional teams who coordinate their actions to bypass controls and withdraw bonus-related profits without raising red flags.

Modern Methods of Bonus Abuse

One widespread technique involves creating multiple accounts across different devices or using VPNs to simulate access from different locations. These accounts are then used to repeatedly claim bonuses from the same casino, breaching terms and conditions.

Another popular method is “matched betting,” where a user bets on all possible outcomes of a game or event using different platforms and bonuses to ensure a profit regardless of the result.

In more extreme cases, organised fraud rings automate account creation and even use stolen identities to claim promotional funds on a mass scale.

How Casinos Detect and Prevent Abuse

In response to the growing sophistication of bonus abusers, many operators now employ dedicated risk management departments. These teams focus specifically on analysing behavioural patterns that differ from normal user activity.

Common red flags include multiple accounts from the same IP address, unusually fast bonus turnover, and high withdrawal frequencies from newly created profiles. Operators also rely on automated alerts and machine learning algorithms to flag suspicious behaviour in real-time.

Furthermore, by 2025, many companies collaborate with third-party security providers who offer shared blacklists and intelligence on known abusers, improving detection across the sector.

Verification Systems and Manual Checks

Advanced verification procedures have become a standard defence line. Most regulated websites now request personal identification documents even at the registration or first withdrawal stage.

In addition to KYC (Know Your Customer) checks, operators employ fraud analysts who manually review withdrawal requests, monitor gameplay patterns, and assess whether behaviour aligns with the site’s fair usage policies.

Some brands also enforce cooldown periods or wagering requirements before any withdrawals can be processed, significantly reducing the incentive to abuse bonuses.

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Bonus Hunting

While some forms of bonus exploitation fall into a grey legal area, more aggressive methods, such as identity theft or fraud with stolen payment methods, are clearly criminal offences. European regulatory bodies continue to tighten legislation around account verification and user tracking.

In the UK, for example, the Gambling Commission has introduced stricter requirements for source-of-funds checks and document verification, particularly in cases of rapid turnover or high withdrawal volumes.

Although some users may argue that they are simply “playing smart,” many tactics directly violate terms and can result in the closure of accounts and confiscation of winnings.

The Ethics of Promotions and the Players’ Role

From a fairness perspective, bonus hunting undermines the principle of promotional offers, which are designed to introduce new players to a website—not to generate short-term profits for exploiters.

Legitimate players may suffer as a result of these schemes, facing stricter verification processes or seeing fewer bonuses offered over time as casinos aim to protect themselves from exploitation.

As with most grey-market behaviours, it’s crucial to draw the line between advantage play within the rules and outright deception, especially when financial losses or regulatory breaches are at stake.