Bonuses remain one of the strongest acquisition tools in the industry, but without the right controls, they also become one of the fastest ways to lose revenue.

This is the second article in Atlaslive’s Expert Articles series focusing on bonuses.

For operators, the challenge is no longer spotting obvious misuse. It’s recognizing patterns that move fast, hide well, and exploit the smallest gaps in onboarding, geolocation, payments, and risk settings. As promotions get even more personalized and competitive in 2026, the attack surface grows too.

The good news? Bonus abuse is manageable when prevention tools, monitoring, and policy settings work together. At Atlaslive, our team sees the same trends across multiple markets, and we’ve gathered practical methods that help operators run bonuses safely without slowing down acquisition or retention.

6 Bonus Abuse Methods and Prevention Recommendations from Atlaslive Experts

Multi-Accounting

Some players try to create multiple accounts to claim the same welcome bonus more than once. This can be done manually with new emails and phone numbers, or at scale using synthetic identities, bots, and device farms to register dozens or hundreds of “new” players that all feed the same person or group.

Atlaslive’s recommendation: Operators can counter this with KYC checks, device fingerprinting, and IP tracking. In practice, that means linking accounts not only by personal data, but also by shared devices, payment methods, behavioral patterns, and registration velocity. When these signals are combined, it becomes much easier to spot clusters of related accounts and cut off bonus abuse before it drains a promotion.

Operator watch-out: Watch for clusters of accounts sharing the same device, payment method, IP range, or identical onboarding patterns, especially when many “new” users appear within minutes of each other.

Arbitrage and Low-Risk Wagering

Players may use betting strategies that minimize risk while meeting wagering requirements, for example, betting on both sides of an event or playing games with high return-to-player percentages. 

In 2026, this can become easier through automated odds-scanning tools, arbitrage groups on messengers, and scripts that instantly place mirrored bets across multiple platforms. Low-risk wagering doesn’t always appear abusive at first glance, which is why it often slips through basic rule settings.

Atlaslive’s recommendation: Contribution tables and maximum bet limits help reduce this risk. Operators can also strengthen protection by lowering bonus contributions on high-RTP games, detecting patterns associated with arbitrage strategies, and monitoring simultaneous bets across multiple markets during promotion periods. This keeps bonuses appealing without giving arbitrage players a path to guaranteed returns.

Operator watch-out: Look for sudden shifts toward high-RTP titles, mirrored bets on correlated events, and new accounts placing identical bet structures within short timeframes.

Chip-Dumping and Collusion

In multiplayer games, coordinated players can transfer bonus funds or winnings between accounts. This often happens through deliberately losing hands, uneven bet sizing, or synchronized play that funnels value toward a single “collector” account. 

In 2026, collusion will be harder to spot manually because groups use encrypted messaging, fast account rotation, and bot-assisted decision-making to disguise patterns.

Atlaslive’s recommendation: Monitoring gameplay patterns and applying anti-collusion software is key to prevention. Operators should also track suspicious win-loss patterns, shared decision timings, repeated table pairings, and abnormal transfer routes of bonus value. Combining these signals gives a clearer view of coordinated behavior long before it reaches cash-out.

Operator watch-out: Be alert to players who repeatedly sit at the same tables together, accounts that consistently lose at strategic moments, or gameplay patterns that don’t match normal human behavior.

VPN and Location Spoofing

Players may attempt to disguise their location to claim bonuses in restricted markets. This often involves VPNs, proxy networks, or residential IP rentals that make a user appear as if they’re registering from a bonus-eligible region. 

In 2026, this behavior can be more coordinated. Bonus hunters share VPN setups, buy aged IPs, and pair them with synthetic identities to slip past simple IP-based checks.

Atlaslive’s tip: Operators can block this activity using geolocation tools and payment method checks. Strengthening this layer also means combining IP intelligence, device location data, velocity checks across regions, and comparing payment sources against known geographies. When these signals are matched together, location spoofing becomes significantly harder for abusers to maintain without detection.

Operator watch-out: Be cautious of new accounts with inconsistent location signals, such as a VPN-flagged IP, a device footprint from another region, and payment details that don’t match either location.

Device Farms

Organized groups sometimes run multiple devices or emulators to repeatedly exploit bonuses. These setups can include dozens or even hundreds of phones, tablets, and virtual machines that simulate new-player activity at scale. 

By rotating devices, switching IPs, and automating registration flows, bonus hunters can generate a steady stream of “fresh” accounts designed to drain promotions before operators notice a pattern.

Atlaslive’s tip: Velocity checks, fraud scoring, and behavioral monitoring can help detect suspicious activity. It’s also effective to combine device fingerprinting, emulator detection, account clustering, and rules that flag unusually fast or repetitive registration patterns. These layers make it significantly more difficult for device farms to operate without triggering alerts.

Operator watch-out: Watch for spikes of new registrations sharing similar device attributes, accounts created within seconds of each other, or sessions that behave with machine-like precision.

Payment Method Exploits

Certain payment providers may allow rapid deposit and withdrawal cycles to abuse bonuses. In more advanced cases, players use disposable cards, mismatched identities, or payment accounts created specifically for fast cash-in/cash-out loops. 

By 2026, these exploits can become more coordinated through groups that share “safe” payment routes, exploit gaps in PSP verification, and automate transactions to move bonus funds before risk checks catch up.

Atlaslive’s tip: Restricting bonuses to verified payment methods can reduce this exposure. Operators can also strengthen protection by flagging inconsistent identity–payment matches, delaying withdrawal eligibility until risk checks are completed, and monitoring rapid transaction chains across multiple new accounts. These controls make it much harder for abusers to use payment systems as a shortcut through wagering rules.

Operator watch-out: Be cautious of accounts that deposit and attempt to withdraw almost immediately, use multiple unrelated cards, or show payment activity that moves faster than typical player behavior.

The Atlaslive Approach to Bonus Fraud Prevention

“Preventing bonus abuse only works when controls connect across onboarding, payments, gameplay, and risk. Atlaslive’s platform supports operators with real-time checks, flexible rule settings, and tools that link signals across accounts and devices. The goal isn’t to limit promotions. It’s to help operators run them safely, spot abuse early, and protect genuine player activity.”
—Anton Pivala, Head of Platform Operations, Atlaslive

Conclusion

Bonus abuse is getting faster, more automated, and more coordinated. The good news is that operators don’t need to choose between strong promotions and strong protection. With the right checks in onboarding, payments, gameplay, and risk, bonuses stay effective without opening the door to exploitation.

“The real aim is simple: keep bonuses rewarding for genuine players and difficult for abusers to exploit. With a structured approach and the right tools in place, operators can offer promotions confidently and focus on long-term player value instead of chasing fraud after it happens.”
——Anton Pivala, Head of Platform Operations, Atlaslive

—————

This document is provided to you for your information and discussion only. This document was based on public sources of information and was created by the Atlaslive team for marketing usage. It is not a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any gambling-related product. Nothing in this document constitutes legal or business development advice. This document has been prepared from sources Atlaslive believes to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness and do not accept liability for any loss arising from its use. Atlaslive reserves the right to remedy any errors that may be present in this document.

‍