A “drop” is a person who uses their personal and passport data to register an account on behalf of someone else in one of the bookmaker’s offices. Recently, drops have become widespread in online sports betting, prompting bookmakers to actively combat this phenomenon.
Despite seeming harmless, the use of drops can seriously harm both the buyer and the seller of the “fake” page. Often, buyers are professional tipsters and bettors, which is due to their activity. Drops are also actively used by various scammers and wrongdoers.
Main users of drops
Specialized exchanges engage in selling such personal pages. Considering that such activity is illegal at practically all bookmakers, upon detection of a drop by the security service, it will be immediately blocked.
As for the audience, fictitious accounts are mainly used by the following categories of bettors:
- Players who create multiple accounts at once—this is done to play through the initial bonus several times;
- “Arbitrage bettors”—players who take advantage of bookmakers’ mistakes in setting odds in their favor (for profit);
- Players who use information from insiders—to avoid blocking their main account or de-anonymization, they resort to drops;
- Underage users—Russian bookmakers allow betting only from the age of 18, so drops are used to bypass these restrictions.
Most companies have access to a centralized database containing information about all players who use prohibited methods in betting, including the use of drops. Therefore, resorting to such methods, one should not forget that it can lead to blocking and loss of money.
Consequences for the seller of creating a drop
In most cases, the purchase of fake accounts is made by bettors who dishonestly use bookmakers’ bonuses or discrepancies in odds. In this case, it appears as an additional source of income for the bettor. If such an account is detected, it is immediately blocked, and the drop is blacklisted by the bookmaker.
However, more serious consequences are possible. If drops are used by scammers, for example, for money laundering, the user may attract the attention of the tax authorities. Additionally, criminals may seize passport data from the account for various illegal activities, such as applying for a loan or other unlawful activities. By selling such an account, the drop can get into big trouble, and law enforcement agencies will have no difficulty in finding them.