The Biggest Opportunity in Wagering Is Knowing When to Say Yes
For years, decisions started with the transaction. Increasingly, that's the least interesting part. Genuine customers and fraudulent networks move fluidly between payment methods and operators, so any single event tells only part of the story. Identity connects them. Forter recognises 97% of identities across Australia, the US, Canada and Ireland,* drawing on a global network of over 2.5 billion - turning a hesitant decline into a confident yes.
1. Identity has become the decision—not the transaction
For years, fraud decisions started with the transaction.
Increasingly, that's the least interesting part.
Fraudsters move effortlessly between payment methods, devices, email addresses and operators. Looking at any one event only tells part of the story.
Identity connects those events.
It provides the historical context that allows operators to distinguish genuine customers from organised abuse.
Forter already recognises 97% of identities across Australia, the US, Canada and Ireland.* Combined with a global identity network of more than 2.5 billion identities, operators are no longer limited to what they've seen on their own platform. Even when a bad actor first appears outside Australia's primary wagering markets, there is often already a history associated with that identity.
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2. AI isn't just helping operators. It's helping fraudsters.
Much of the industry's AI conversation focuses on productivity.
Fraudsters are becoming more productive too.
Credential stuffing.
Synthetic identities.
Account takeover.
Coordinated abuse.
These attacks are becoming faster, cheaper and easier to scale.
The average fraudster in Forter's gaming network targets 5.5 different gaming operators every year,* demonstrating that organised attacks are already operating at scale.
At the same time, AI agents will increasingly become part of legitimate customer experiences—from monitoring odds to executing betting strategies.
The challenge isn't detecting automation.
It's understanding who's behind it.
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3. Promotional abuse has become an acquisition problem.
Bonus abuse is no longer opportunistic.
It's organised.
Multi-accounting.
Bot-driven registration.
Affiliate abuse.
Arbitrage betting.
These aren't isolated incidents—they're repeatable business models.
Forter's research indicates that more than 65% of fraud and abuse methods in betting involve multi-account creation or account takeover.*
The commercial implication is significant.
Operators shouldn't have to choose between growing aggressively and protecting promotions.
When identity is understood with confidence, acquisition offers can reach genuine new customers while organised abuse is stopped before it erodes profitability.
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4. The biggest opportunity isn't stopping fraud. It's approving more customers.
This is where many fraud conversations miss the point.
Every unnecessary decline.
Every manual review.
Every extra authentication step.
Creates friction for a genuine customer.
In wagering, that friction is amplified.
A one-second delay can mean the odds move.
The market closes.
Or the customer simply places their bet elsewhere.
The lost transaction is only part of the cost.
The larger cost is the customer who never comes back.
The operators creating the most value aren't necessarily declining more transactions.
They're confidently approving more of the right ones.
Across Forter's largest gaming customers, the commercial upside from incremental approvals is approximately 12 times greater than the value preserved through declining fraudulent transactions.*
Fraud prevention stops being about saying "no."
It becomes knowing exactly when you can confidently say "yes."
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5. Trust is becoming Australia's next competitive advantage.
Nearly half of high-risk gaming identities are connected across multiple merchants.
Forter's analysis also found that more than 40%* were linked to activity outside gaming altogether. Organised fraud doesn't respect operator boundaries—or industry boundaries.
No individual operator sees the full picture.
Network intelligence changes that.
When trust decisions are informed by identity—not isolated transactions—operators can:
● approve more genuine customers instantly
● reduce unnecessary authentication and manual reviews
● protect promotional investment
● identify organised fraud earlier
● increase customer lifetime value, not just today's conversion.
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The next competitive advantage won't be better rules.
It will be better identity decisions.
Australian wagering has always been one of the world's most sophisticated betting markets.
As AI reshapes both customer expectations and criminal behaviour, the industry's challenge is changing.
It's no longer simply:
"How do we stop more fraud?"
It's becoming:
"How confidently can we recognise and approve our genuine customers?"
For the operators that get this right, fraud prevention becomes more than a defensive capability.
It becomes a growth engine—protecting revenue, reducing friction and building customer trust in the moments that matter.
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Heading to Backing the Punt Melbourne?
Drop by the Forter coffee cart for a conversation, or connect with us now to receive the full Australian Gaming & Betting Network Insights and a custom analysis tailored to your organistion.
Learn how leading wagering operators are using identity intelligence to approve more genuine customers, reduce promotional abuse and prepare for the next era of AI-driven commerce.
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Article produced by Assaf Shilon, Principal Consultant, Analytics Consulting, Forter
Source: Forter Gaming & Betting Network 2026
About Forter
Forter delivers AI decisions built for the commerce moments that matter. Powered by a network of 2 billion shoppers, our AI makes instant trust decisions from sign-up to checkout to returns — so every good customer always gets the experience they deserve. Nordstrom, Instacart, Priceline, and nearly 1 million businesses trust Forter to keep the right customers coming back. Zero friction for the customers who matter. No revenue left behind. Learn more at forter.com.
