Game On: How Bot Attacks Are Threatening the Digital Fan Experience

From Wimbledon and Formula One to rugby internationals and football finals, the calendar is packed with events that bring together millions of fans around the world. Technology has transformed how we experience these moments too. Today we can stream matches, analysis and discussion instantly, follow athletes on social media, buy merchandise in seconds, and secure tickets with just a few clicks.

But with every new digital touchpoint comes a new opportunity for attackers and scammers.

Major sporting events create perfect conditions for automated attacks. Ticket releases generate spikes in demand, with millions of supporters joining virtual queues at the same time. High-profile fixtures create valuable opportunities for cybercriminals looking to exploit speed and scale.

According to the Thales 2026 Bad Bot Report, 39% of traffic to sports websites now comes from malicious bots, while only 52% is generated by genuine human users. That means a significant proportion of activity around major sporting events is no longer coming from fans at all. An indication of the scale of this problem comes from some of Thales’ top customers for bot protection, who are seeing an average of 20m bot blocking requests a day, rising to as high as 87m.

Ticket scalping is often the most visible consequence, but it's only one part of the story.

The same automated tools can scrape ticket availability and pricing, create fake supporter accounts, abuse promotional offers, test stolen payment credentials and target loyalty programmes. As sport has become increasingly digital, the attack surface has expanded far beyond the ticket office.

Every successful automated purchase, compromised account or fraudulent transaction erodes trust in the digital experience. Ultimately, everybody loses when supporters lose confidence that they'll have a fair opportunity to access the events they care about.

We all enjoy sports in the knowledge that the outcome has been determined by preparation, performance and determination – and hopefully not with unfair advantages. When it comes to getting access to those same sports, supporters should expect that equally level playing field.

The challenge is becoming increasingly complex as artificial intelligence changes the economics of automated attacks. Today's bots are no longer simple scripts sending repeated requests. They are designed to behave like genuine fans – rotating identities, adapting to security controls and mimicking human behaviour in navigating websites and payment pages to evade legacy detection techniques.

That means organisations can no longer rely on simple controls such as IP reputation or CAPTCHA challenges alone. Modern bot protection increasingly relies on behavioural analysis, advanced fingerprinting and hundreds of device and interaction signals to understand intent in real time. The objective isn't simply to stop bots; it's to distinguish malicious automation from genuine supporters without introducing unnecessary friction into the fan journey.

Thales advanced bot protection analyses more than 400 behavioural and device attributes to make high-confidence decisions and take action to mitigate in milliseconds. Equally important is that legitimate users are only challenged when absolutely necessary, helping keep false positives to an absolute minimum and ensuring genuine supporters enjoy a seamless experience.

This might sound like a cybersecurity challenge, but it's also a business imperative.

Modern sports organisations are no longer just teams competing on a pitch, court or track. They are global entertainment brands, digital businesses and thriving online communities. Every ticket purchase, membership renewal, merchandise sale and digital interaction contributes to the overall fan experience.

Put simply, without fans, there is no sport.

Protecting the fan experience now starts long before kick-off, lights out or the first serve. It starts with securing the digital platforms that connect supporters with the teams, athletes and events they love.

Because ultimately, cybersecurity in sport isn't just about stopping bots. It's about preserving fairness, protecting trust and ensuring that technology continues to bring fans closer to the action – not further away from it.