TOP-5 errors when starting tournaments

Tournaments can increase participation, average deposit and ARPPU (net), but only with the correct economy, fair rules and clean data. Below are the five main mistakes that "eat up" the effect, and practical ways to avoid them.

Error # 1. Prize economy 'by feel', not model

Symptoms:

Mass is low, only the top 3 will win; the tail of prizes is missing.
ARPPU Δ seems to be growing, but Net Uplift is zero or negative - prizes/bonuses "ate" the margin.
A surge of activity on the event, and post-effect (7-14 days) is minimal.

Why so: The fund and payout structure are not related to expected turnover, segments and target CPL/CPA by mission.

How to fix:

The prize pool (PF) is calculated from the expected turnover of the pool of games during the tournament: for mass events, the benchmark is 0.5-2.5%; for premium sprints - higher, but with mouthguards and KYC.
Divide the fund: 40-60% in the top position, 40-60% - the "long tail" of micropreezes (FS/bonus cache/loot).
Part of the prizes is a 10-30% wager-free cache for trust, the rest are managed bonuses.
See ARPPU (net) = ARPPU − (Prize + Bonus per payor) and Net Uplift by cohort rather than "average."
Plan post-effect and don't cannibalise regular days: compare to holdout.

Checklist: PF from turnover, depth of payments, share of a no-vager, cap for Prize/Bonus per Active, post-effect in the report.

Error number 2. Vulnerable rules of glasses → farm and bots

Symptoms:

In the leaderboard are anomalous accounts with "perfect" betting sequences.
Farm "microstays" dominate the regular game; complaints of dishonesty.
A high prize fund goes to a narrow group, mass sags.

Why so: scoring "1 point for €1 turnover" without caps/minimal dispersion; no headless/proxy detection.

How to fix:

Use hybrid scoring (for example, win/bet × k multiplier) with a drop of points per bet/min/hour/day.
Enter the minimum variance for rates and the prohibition of "perfectly even" patterns.
Technical control: device-fingerprint, proxy/ASN unit, headless signals.
Top prizes - hold-and-review + KYC; delay of release before validation.
Spread leaderboards across betting segments/limits so minnows have a chance.

Checklist: glasses caps, bet variance, technical signals, KYC top winners, segment tables.

Error number 3. Confusing UX and the "glass ceiling" of the leaderboard

Symptoms:

Participation_gross high (clicked "participate"), and Participation_net and Completion low.
Players don't understand how to catch up with the top 10; growth in outflows and appeals to support.
"Hopelessness effect": in the middle of the event, activity drops.

Why so: complex rules, no transparent prompts, one-column leaderboards, weak visualization of progress.

How to fix:

Leaderboard zones: Top-3/4-10/11-50/51-200 with visible rewards by zone.
Tips "how much to target": "to the top 25 - 900 points ≈ 150 spin 0.5."
Progress bar missions and "loot moments" on intermediate thresholds (T1/T2/T3).
Short sprints 1-3 hours in prime time + weekly arches with daily mini-goals.
Localization of texts/currencies/dates; pocket help with examples of accruals.

Checklist: zones, hints, intermediate rewards, sprints, localization, "1 screen - 1 goal."

Error number 4. Lack of valid analytics and A/B design

Symptoms:

"There is growth," but it is unclear whether it is an increment or a transfer of activity.
Team disputes: some watch DAU, others - revenue, others - "clicks on the banner."
Early stop "by feel," no one checks SRM.

Why so: no holdout control, mixing gross/net participation, no deduction for the cost of prizes/bonuses, metrics are not versioned.

How to fix:

Experimental unit - user, sticky-assignment, stratification (payer/geo/platform).
Holdout 10–20% или randomized invitation; SRM monitoring daily.
Main metrics: Participation_net, Completion, Δ ARPPU (net), Avg Deposit, Paying Share, post-effect 7-14 days.
Reduce variance: CUPED (pre-value), cohorts, cluster errors.
Version the DAU/WAU/participation/completion definitions and fix the rule change dates.

Checklist: holdout/random, SRM, ARPPU net (after prizes/bonuses), post-effect, CAPPED, metric versions.

Error number 5. Ignore RG/KYC and Caper Budget

Symptoms:

Complaints to the regulator, chargeback, media risks.
The tournament budget "burns out" on day one; manual locks, panic.
Payments go to unconfirmed players.

Why so: no soft/hard cap on pools, no RG triggers and KYC gates enabled, no circuit-breakers.

How to fix:

Budget pools (seasonal/daily/vip) with soft cap 80-90% and hard cap 100%; with soft cap - automatic transfer of large prizes to hold.
RG-control: limits of deposits, "cool-off," self-exclusion → block of awards/communications.
KYC levels: cache/large prizes - L2 + only; FS/small bonuses - L1.
Circuit breakers: with 5xx partners/anomalies - degradation: microprise instead of cache, lengthening lags, pause issuance.

Checklist: pools and caps, circuit-breakers, RG/KYC gates, audit-log, hold-and-review stream.

Quick "anti-mail" launch plan

1. Economy: PF as% of turnover, depth of payments, share of no-vager, target Prizes/Bonus per Active/Payor.

2. Scoring: hybrid formula + mouthguards; minimum dispersion; segment tables.

3. UX: leaderboard zones, how many to target tips, intermediate rewards, sprints.

4. Antifraud: fingerprints, proxy/ASN block, headless detection, hold-and-review tops.

5. Analytics: holdout, SRM, CUPED, Δ ARPPU (net), post-effect; versioned metrics.

6. RG/KYC/Budget: pools, soft/hard cap, circuit-breakers, RG triggers, KYC levels.

7. Runbook: Retrai/DLQ, replay, manual issue, freeze rules for an incident.

Mini Case (Synthetic)

Before: tournaments "top 3 take everything," PF fixed, scoring by turnover without caps.

After: PF = 1.2% of turnover, "long tail" 55% of the fund, scoring win/bet × k + caps/min/hour, leader board zones, how many to target tips, holdout 15%, KYC L2 for cache prizes, soft cap 90% + circuit-breaker.

Result of week 4 vs control: Participation_net + 7.4 pp, Completion + 12.1 pp, Δ ARPPU (net) + €2.6, Prize & Bonus/Active + €0.8 (within plan), fraud flags <1% PF, complaints/1k no growth.

Conclusion: we scale the sprints 2 ×/week, save the mouthguards and KYC-gate.

The failure of tournaments almost always rests on one of five: economics, points, fraud, UX, analytics/RG. If you have a PF model, honest scoring with hips, an intuitive interface, valid A/B with ARPPU (net) and strict RG/KYC gates - tournaments become a predictable growth mechanism, not a lottery for happy production.