tity verification company, Jumio posted data showing that European online gambling fraud during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2017.

The rate of fraud was 67% higher than the daily average for the rest of the year. Nonetheless, fraudulent activity decreased 4% from 2016, although encouraging, figures were higher for online gambling than a range of other sectors.

The other sectors include the likes of financial services, travel, sharing economy services and insurance, which collectively saw a 25% year over year decrease in detectable fraud.

Anies Khan, Head of Gaming, Jumio, commented: ‘’While we saw an overall reduction in detectable fraud between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online gambling saw significant increases during the account setup process. Online gaming operators are often reluctant to add extra barriers to the customer onboarding process because they want a seamless user experience.

“This year’s data suggests that this mindset may require rethinking since its leaving operators vulnerable to attacks. Operators must consider deploying more robust identity verification solutions that enable a swift user experience, but also provide an effective fraud deterrent.’’

Overall, the data posted would suggest that online gambling is increasingly being targeted by fraudsters, with the amount of activity increasing 60% since 2014.

Jumio works to create services that increase customer conversions whilst reducing susceptibility to fraudulent activity. The identity verification expert processes approximately 300,000 verifications per day and serving nine of the ten largest online gambling and gaming sites in the EU.