In a significant move against automated ticket purchasing, Croatian ticketing infrastructure startup UPAD has successfully deployed "Rakija Gate" - the first Balkan anti-bot protocol specifically designed to combat automated systems during high-demand concert sales.
Record-Breaking Bot Attack Meets Cultural Solution
The new system was put to the ultimate test during the New Year's Eve ticket sale for regional superstar Aleksandra Prijović, organized by Extra FM. The event, which took place in November 2025, faced what UPAD describes as the highest level of bot traffic ever recorded in the region's history.
Within minutes of the ticket sale going live, UPAD's sophisticated behavior detection engine identified machine-generated purchase patterns that far exceeded normal thresholds. Rather than allowing these automated sessions to compete with genuine fans, the system immediately routed suspicious traffic into a separate quarantine lane.
How Rakija Gate Protects Real Fans
The core of UPAD's innovative approach lies in what the engineering team calls the "Rakija Pit" - an internal mechanism where automated sessions are effectively trapped. "It's where automated sessions can dance as long as they want - but they never reach checkout. Meanwhile, real fans keep moving forward," explained UPAD representatives.
The name itself reflects a piece of shared Balkan cultural humor, playing on the region's famous fruit brandy. The concept suggests that only real humans can handle rakija, while automated systems simply can't withstand the challenge.
Setting New Standards for Ticketing Transparency
What makes UPAD's approach particularly noteworthy is its commitment to transparency. The company has announced it will publish a public Event Digest containing anonymized metrics including:
- Queue composition analysis
- Purchase success rates
- Anomaly quarantine statistics
- Overall integrity scores
"This is what artists, organizers, and fans deserve," said a UPAD spokesperson identified only as M.M. "Not mystery. Not speculation. Actual numbers. Actual fairness. Actual presence."
Behind the culturally-relevant branding lies sophisticated technology more commonly found in modern fintech applications than regional ticketing platforms. While most European Union ticketing services treat bot traffic as an unavoidable nuisance, UPAD is positioning Rakija Pit as part of a comprehensive integrity layer for live-event access.
As Balkan markets begin to experience the same demand waves that have challenged ticketing systems globally, UPAD sees infrastructural fairness as essential for the future of live entertainment in the region.
The successful deployment during the Aleksandra Prijović concert sale marks a significant milestone for the fast-growing ticketing infrastructure company, which combines modern seat architecture with behavior-scoring and presence-tracking layers to protect both artists and fans from automated interference.
