Ghana’s igaming sector faces alarming fraud surge amid Africa’s overall decline
Fraud in Ghana’s igaming sector more than doubled to 5.76 per cent in Q2 2025, while Africa overall reports a 14.7 per cent drop.
Ghana.- Ghana’s igaming sector is facing a fraud crisis, with identity fraud rates soaring to 5.76 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2), more than double the 2.33 per cent recorded in the same period in 2024. This surge stands in stark contrast to Africa overall, where igaming fraud has fallen 14.7 per cent over the past two years, highlighting Ghana’s diverging trajectory.
Sumsub, a global verification platform that uses AI-powered checks and biometric verification to prevent fraud and ensure compliance, highlighted that across all industries, Ghana’s identity fraud rate climbed to 3.94 per cent in April to June 2025, nearly twice Africa’s continental average of 2.27 per cent.
Ghana’s igaming sector remains under severe strain at the 5.76 per cent fraud level, posing a critical threat to operators and highlighting the urgent need for stronger verification and compliance measures, according to a Sumsub 2025 report.
Sumsub VP of Sales for Africa, Hannes Bezuidenhout, said, according to an EIN press release: “Ghana’s numbers show a different trajectory from the continent. While Africa has demonstrated that investment in robust verification reduces fraud without slowing down growth, Ghana’s experience highlights what happens when fraudsters move faster than compliance systems.”
He added that this is a wake-up call for operators to “close the gap with AI-driven solutions and continuous monitoring”.
Fraud tactics evolve
Meanwhile, across Africa, fraud has been cut thanks to stronger verification processes and targeted investment in compliance technology.
Regulatory pressure is intensifying across Africa, with South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya tightening rules to safeguard players and operators. For Ghana, the surge in fraud underscores the need for urgent action.
Regional Business Development Director for North and West Africa at Sumsub, Richy Emah, said: “Verification remains both Africa’s strength and its challenge. Ghana’s fraud dynamics demonstrate how urgent it is to build seamless, secure and locally adapted verification processes.”
The report highlights evolving fraud tactics. Off-hour attacks are rising, deposit stages are increasingly targeted and AI-driven fraud, including deepfakes, jumped 700 per cent globally between 2024 and 2025. Experts recommend continuous verification throughout the player journey, alongside innovations like non-document verification and reusable KYC systems that reduce onboarding to just 25 seconds.
Emah added: “Operators in Ghana have a choice. They can continue to absorb rising fraud losses, or they can invest now in the kind of AI-powered fraud prevention systems that will not only protect their platforms but also unlock smoother experiences for genuine players. The future of igaming in Ghana depends on it.”
