If Your Game Has an Economy, It Has an Identity Problem

Gaming platforms have changed dramatically over the past decade.

Player accounts can be created in seconds. Virtual items carry real value. Wallets, payouts, tournaments, and marketplaces are no longer side features. They are core to how modern games monetize and grow. What once looked like entertainment infrastructure now operates much closer to financial infrastructure.

Fraud followed that shift, not because games became less secure, but because value became easier to move.

According to TransUnion, gaming had the highest rate of suspected digital fraud of any industry in the U.S. in 2023, with nearly 11 percent of transactions flagged as suspicious. Fraud is no longer an edge case. It is an everyday operational reality.

Where fraud actually shows up

For most gaming and gambling platforms, fraud does not appear as a single problem. It shows up in waves, often tied to growth moments or major releases:

• Bot-driven account creation floods sign-ups and matchmaking systems 
• Account takeovers lead to drained wallets, stolen inventories, and frustrated players 
• Marketplaces and item trading systems become targets for impersonation and abuse 
• Stolen payment methods surface during purchases or withdrawals 
• Competitive play attracts multi-account abuse that undermines fairness and payouts

Many teams respond by layering tools. CAPTCHA here. MFA there. Fraud scoring on payments. Manual review when something looks off.

These controls help, but they rarely tell the full story. Each tool sees a slice of risk, not the person behind it. As a result, attackers slip through gaps between systems, while legitimate players feel the friction.

Authentication solves access. Identity solves trust.

Most platforms are built to authenticate users. Far fewer are built to verify who that user actually is.

Authentication answers whether someone has a credential. Identity answers whether the real human behind the action is who they claim to be. That distinction becomes critical once accounts hold value and actions are hard to reverse.

There are certain moments in the player journey where this gap becomes impossible to ignore:

• Account creation at scale
• Login recovery and device changes
• Item transfers and marketplace listings
• Wallet withdrawals and payment updates
• Tournament entry and prize payouts

Without identity at these moments, platforms rely on probability rather than certainty. Fraudsters exploit that uncertainty using stolen credentials, synthetic identities, and automation that looks legitimate until damage is done.

This is why identity is increasingly becoming infrastructure, not a feature.

Tying identity to actions

Proof approaches gaming and gambling fraud from a different angle.

Instead of only scoring risk after the fact, Proof verifies the real player behind high-risk actions in real time. Identity becomes something decisions are anchored to, not inferred from signals alone.

When identity is applied this way, several things change at once:

• Bot farms are blocked earlier in the lifecycle
• Account takeovers become harder to execute, especially during recovery and device changes
• Player-to-player trades and marketplaces are protected from impersonation
• Tournaments and payouts can be tied to verified participants
• Wallet withdrawals and payment changes gain an added layer of assurance

The result is not just less fraud. It is fewer disputes, fewer support escalations, and healthier in-game economies. Just as importantly, trusted players move faster because checks are applied selectively, only where risk is highest.

A better experience over time

Identity does not have to feel heavy or intrusive.

When applied thoughtfully, it reduces friction over time rather than adding to it. Fewer compromised accounts mean fewer frustrated players. Fewer disputes mean less manual review. Fewer stolen assets mean healthier communities.

For operators, identity becomes a unifying layer across systems that were never designed to work together. Account systems, wallets, marketplaces, tournaments, and recovery flows all benefit from a shared understanding of who the player really is.

That is the difference between reacting to fraud and designing for trust.

Gaming and gambling platforms are no longer just managing gameplay. They are managing economies, identities, and real financial risk. Fraud will continue to evolve. Bots will get smarter. Credentials will keep circulating.

The platforms that stay ahead will be the ones that stop guessing and start verifying.

Identity is no longer a side feature. It is core infrastructure for modern gaming.

Learn how Proof helps platforms verify real players behind high-risk actions without slowing gameplay >