FRAUD targeting the global online gambling industry continued to rise in early 2026 as artificial intelligence (AI) made identity fraud and other scams easier to execute, according to a new industry report.
The 2026 iGaming Fraud Report, released by identity verification and fraud prevention company Sumsub, found that the global iGaming verification fraud rate reached 1.53 percent in the first quarter of 2026, up from 1.30 percent in 2025 and 1.10 percent in 2024, marking an 18-percent year-on-year increase. The findings were based on an analysis of millions of identity verification attempts and transaction records collected between 2024 and the first quarter of 2026, including more than 3 million observed fraud attempts.
According to the report, the growing availability of AI tools, including deepfakes, synthetic identities and forged documents, has lowered the barriers to fraud while enabling more sophisticated attacks.
The report also found that suspicious iGaming transactions have become more frequent and involve larger sums. The rate of suspicious transactions more than quadrupled over the past year, while the average flagged transaction exceeded €6,000 in the first quarter of 2026, nearly double the level recorded a year earlier.
Regionally, Africa posted the highest fraud rate at 2.54 percent during the first quarter, followed by the Asia-Pacific at 1.92 percent. Europe and Latin America each recorded 1.14 percent, while North America had the lowest rate at 0.44 percent.
The study said fraud techniques have shifted from simple fake documents and bonus abuse to coordinated attacks involving AI-enhanced documents, deepfakes, face swaps, synthetic identities and networks of fraudulent accounts. It also found that fraudsters now take an average of 4.6 times longer than legitimate users to complete identity verification, indicating greater reliance on preparation-intensive methods.
The report said selfie fraud and deepfakes accounted for the largest share of fraud attempts in many regions, while fake identity documents remained prevalent in Europe and forged proof-of-address documents were more common in Latin America. It added that fraudulent activity increasingly extends beyond account registration, underscoring the need for ongoing transaction monitoring and behavioral analysis in addition to identity verification.
The report forecast that AI-powered fraud will continue to evolve through 2026 and 2027, with fraudsters expected to make greater use of automated account creation, synthetic identities and AI-assisted fraud techniques.