Online casino operators had learned well how to secure themselves from all sorts of dangers, including data breaches and cyber-attacks. Leading gambling sites and best return casinos have enough resources to employ up-to-date security technologies that constantly evolve. Therefore, they can significantly reduce the possible risk of being hacked.

However, no matter how much effort a casino puts into enhancing the safety of its platform, and no matter how “hard-to-crack” its security system is, it is still possible to become a target of hacking attacks. And in recent years, that’s what happens quite often.

If you have been into gambling for a long time, you have probably witnessed some of the most secure land-based casino establishments becoming a victim of hackers. The same goes for online platforms as well.

So, in this article, let’s go deep and explore the most ground-shaking cases of cybersecurity breaches and hacking attacks the gambling industry has ever witnessed.

Top 5 Examples of Online Casino Sites Being Hacked

Even though heavy investment in safety systems can significantly help deter potential hackers, it’s not always 100% useful. There are still so many vulnerabilities and easier targets they can choose for their attacks.

And the fact that many operators occasionally report real hacking cases proves that there’s no doubt that data breaches are more than possible.

But why do hackers and malicious actors target online casinos? What goals do they pursue? Actually,  the reasons can be quite different. Some of them want to get access to clients’ sensitive information to sell it later. Others try to get control over the security system and demand ransom. Small-scale attacks also simply hack gamer accounts and steal money from them.

Here, we have gathered the top 5 examples of various online casinos being hacked. So, let’s have a look!

#1 Prime

Taking place in 2014, the case of Primedice is arguably one of the most significant and most curious hacking examples worth looking at. Primedice, a casino provider mainly focused on dice games, was hacked by the gamer Hufflepuff, who managed to make wagers of 8,000 USD per second and hit a significant amount of wins. After carefully investigating the case, the Primedice team couldn’t find any mistakes or hacking attempts and decided to pay the gamer the full amount he won.

However, later on, it was discovered that Hufflepuff attacked the provably fair system of the casino. A provably fair system determines the outcomes of future game rounds and encrypts them, letting players decrypt and compare what happened previously. What Hufflepuff did was overload the system by sending numerous requests, which caused the failure of the encryption process and revealed future outcomes.

Overall, after successfully hacking the system, Hufflepuff withdrew more than 2,400 BTC. In 2014, it cost nearly $1 million.

#2 Americas Cardroom

The next case we are looking into, the Americas Cardroom, actually ended successfully for the casino operator. In August 2018, this online poker platform became a target of malicious actors who stalled several tournaments worth around 10 million dollars. However, the problem was immediately discovered and solved, so criminals failed to succeed.

#3 UK National Lottery

Are you looking for examples where criminals were actually punished by law? Then, the hacking case of the UK National Lottery will surely interest you. Back in July 2018, two malicious actors were discovered and arrested as they tried to break into the system of the UK National Lottery.

However, even though the criminals were caught, the hack was partially successful – it managed to reveal access to more than 25,000 user accounts.

Moreover, taking into account the fact that hackers couldn’t steal any money, they got sentenced only a few months. What’s notable is that the investigation itself cost the company almost 200,000 pounds.

#4 888 Holdings

One of the biggest data breaches in gambling history took place in 2017 and brought enormous damage to the leading operator in the market, 888 Holdings. Overall, the casino’s damage included the exposure of over 7,000,000 users’ confidential information.

This hack was possible due to the vulnerability the attackers found in the casino’s system and gained access to private data. The information they got covered addresses, names, and credit card details of the involved players.

#5 William Hill

The next not less impressive case in our list is the phishing attack on William Hill in 2020. The criminals used malicious emails to get the login credentials of employees. And with access to employee’s information, they easily gained entry to the company’s data. This attack again showed how essential employee training programs are and highlighted the need to raise awareness among casino providers.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to online gambling, the market is quite large and involves billions of financial exchanges happening every day through various payment options, including e-wallets, crypto, Mastercard, and bank transfers. That’s the reason why this field is so attractive to hackers.

To avoid being scammed or becoming a target of professional criminals, it’s crucial to have some basic security measures in place. This can cover encryption technologies, two-factor authentication, and complex passwords.

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