AI Lowers Barrier to Sophisticated Fraud, Solverde Manager Warns
AI Has Lowered the Barrier to Sophisticated Fraud – Solverde Fraud Manager Highlights Compliance and Onboarding Challenges for Gaming Operators
Key Takeaways
- AI has significantly lowered the barrier to sophisticated fraud, according to Solverde.pt Fraud and Risk Manager Mário Cardoso.
- Operators are expected to prepare for stronger continuous monitoring, sanctions screening, and auditability under the upcoming EU AML package.
- Biometric technologies such as liveness detection and facial recognition are becoming key tools in preventing account takeover and synthetic identity fraud.
- Automated risk scoring systems combine multiple signals to reduce false positives while improving fraud detection.
AI Expands Both Fraud Prevention and Fraud Capabilities
Artificial intelligence is reshaping identity verification and fraud detection in the online gaming sector. According to Mário Cardoso, Fraud and Risk Manager at Solverde.pt, AI has fundamentally changed both how operators detect fraud and how criminals attempt to bypass controls.
On the operator side, AI supports document analysis, behavioural modelling, automated decision making, and large scale fraud detection. These tools allow companies to process identity checks and monitor activity at a scale that was not possible a few years ago.
At the same time, fraudsters are using the same technology. Cardoso points to AI generated identity documents, increasingly realistic deepfakes, automated account creation, and more sophisticated synthetic identities. As a result, fraud prevention has become what he describes as a constant technological arms race.
For operators in regulated markets, the challenge is not only deploying AI systems but ensuring that they remain explainable, properly governed, and continuously monitored. In highly regulated environments, decisions must be auditable and supported by human oversight.
Risk Based KYC as a Balance Between Compliance and User Experience
Cardoso rejects the idea that strict compliance and smooth onboarding are conflicting objectives. He argues that both can coexist when operators apply a genuine risk based approach to know your customer procedures.
Instead of treating every player as high risk, operators should allow most legitimate users to complete registration within seconds using automated document verification, biometric liveness checks, and trusted data sources. Additional controls should only be introduced when specific risk indicators appear.
Examples of such indicators include inconsistencies in identity data, high risk jurisdictions, unusual payment behaviour, or device anomalies. These factors should trigger enhanced due diligence rather than applying the same level of friction to all customers.
According to Cardoso, success in compliance is not measured by the number of documents collected, but by how accurately risk is identified while legitimate customers can access services without unnecessary delays.
EU AML Reform Increases Focus on Monitoring and Governance
Looking ahead, Cardoso highlights the upcoming EU anti money laundering package and the creation of a new Anti Money Laundering Authority as key developments for EU based operators.
Many companies currently operate across multiple jurisdictions with differing KYC standards, reporting obligations, and due diligence requirements. Greater harmonisation may simplify compliance in the long term, but the transition phase will require significant investment in technology, governance, and operational processes.
He expects regulators to place stronger emphasis on continuous customer monitoring rather than one off verification. Operators should also prepare for stronger sanctions and politically exposed person screening, improved documentation of risk based decisions, enhanced auditability of automated systems, and higher standards for data quality and record keeping.
Compliance assessments are likely to focus not only on whether controls exist, but whether operators can demonstrate that these controls are effective and proportionate.
Biometrics and Multi Signal Detection in Fraud Prevention
Biometric technologies are becoming central components in fraud prevention strategies. Traditional document verification confirms whether a document appears genuine. Biometric liveness checks confirm that the person presenting the document is physically present and not using a photograph, video replay, or AI generated deepfake.
Cardoso identifies biometric tools as particularly valuable in preventing synthetic identity fraud, account opening using stolen documents, account takeover, and identity sharing between individuals.
However, he stresses that biometrics are not a standalone solution. Their value increases when combined with device intelligence, behavioural analytics, transaction monitoring, and continuous risk assessment. Modern fraud prevention relies on multiple independent signals rather than a single technology.
Automated risk scoring systems allow operators to combine hundreds of data points, including identity verification results, payment behaviour, device reputation, gameplay patterns, geolocation, transaction history, and previous investigations. Instead of fixed rules, these systems generate dynamic risk scores that evolve throughout the customer lifecycle.
The objective is not to detect every anomaly, but to identify meaningful combinations of signals that indicate elevated risk. This approach helps reduce false positives, which can increase operational costs and negatively affect user experience, while still limiting fraud losses.
Onboarding Speed as a Competitive Factor Against the Black Market
Cardoso also links fraud prevention and onboarding efficiency to market competition. He notes that unlicensed platforms often offer fast registration with minimal verification, allowing players to begin gambling immediately.
Licensed operators cannot reduce compliance standards to compete. Instead, they must rely on technology to complete identity verification in under a minute while maintaining robust fraud controls. In this context, effective onboarding becomes both a compliance requirement and a competitive advantage for the regulated sector.
He adds that fraud is no longer an individual operator issue but an ecosystem challenge. Criminal networks share knowledge, technology evolves globally, and regulation continues to change. He highlights the importance of collaboration between operators, suppliers, regulators, and law enforcement, as well as industry events where stakeholders exchange experiences and establish common standards.
Our Assessment
The statements from Solverde.pt’s Fraud and Risk Manager underline how AI is simultaneously strengthening and challenging fraud controls in regulated gaming. Operators face increasing expectations around continuous monitoring, governance, and auditability, particularly in light of upcoming EU AML reforms. At the same time, rapid and low friction onboarding is positioned as essential for maintaining competitiveness against unlicensed platforms. The combination of biometric verification, automated risk scoring, and multi signal monitoring emerges as a central framework for balancing regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, and user experience.
We have imposed strict editorial guidelines on ourselves and explain our testing methods openly and comprehensively. We also communicate transparently how our work is financed. This site may contain tracking links, but this does not influence our objective view in any way.
