AI is everywhere, including gambling.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like AI is everywhere these days. It’s in the news, it’s online, it’s in my phone, it’s a part of the smart devices in my home, it’s where I work, it’s at restaurants, airports, shopping centers, etc. Artificial intelligence is something that most of us can’t escape no matter where we go.

Since it’s a growing part of our lives, and it seems to be a top conversation no matter the industry (gambling included), this got me thinking…

Just how ingrained are AI and gambling?
Why and how do online gambling operators use it?
How does it affect me (good and bad) as a player?
What’ s the future of AI and gambling?

I did a bit of research into the topic with the goal of answering the above questions to my satisfaction and learned a few things. In this post, I’m sharing what I found interesting about AI and its impact on us as casino players.

AI and Gambling – How It’s Used and Why (as a Gambler) You Should Care

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, more commonly shortened to AI, is a broad term that defines a set of computer science technologies. Basically, these technologies enable computers to work and react in a way that humans do. AI makes it possible for machines to learn from experience. These machines or systems demonstrate “intelligent” traits.  These traits include the ability to learn, reason, solve problems, and plan. Some AI machines can even mimic a certain level of creativity and social intelligence.

That’s the short of it. If you’d like a longer and more detailed definition of what AI is, how it works, and the different types, this article from Google Cloud can provide you with that extra info better than I can.😊

How AI is used in online gambling

AI technology is ever evolving and has made notable strides in recent years. It’s transforming a wide range of industries from healthcare to finance to online gambling. In the case of online gambling, high speed internet, smartphones, and ground-breaking graphics opened the door to AI integration. This integration made it possible for online casinos to provide immersive experiences to players.

Today, there are various opportunities for machine learning systems to be used within the industry.

Some areas were AI and gambling are combined include:

• Tailored marketing
• Automation
• Enhanced security
• Facial and voice recognition
• Fraud detection
• Predictive maintenance
• Predictive analytics
• Algorithms
• Responsible gambling
• Improving user experience
• Customer behaviour analysis
• Identifying loyal/valuable customers
• Customer retention
• Customer service

Ultimately, regardless of how AI is used by gambling operators via the artificial intelligence systems they employ, the primary purpose of AI and gambling is to streamline processes, make predictions, and enhance player experiences.

Why operators are using AI for gambling

While the ultimate reason for using it is to retain customers and boost revenue, more specifically, here’s why iGaming operators and other sectors within the industry are using AI for gambling.

• Enhanced game development – Software developers can develop intelligent and adaptive games using machine learning algorithms. With machine learning integrated into the game, games can learn from the behaviour of the user and offer the player a more engaging and personalized experience that is also less predictable.

• Personalized player experience – An artificial intelligence casino can analyze the behaviours and preferences of a player, learning the type of gaming experience the player prefers. This allows the casino to tailor game recommendations and promotions specific to players. By doing this, there is a greater chance of improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Customer behaviour analysis/user-retention – By analyzing player behaviour (e.g., how often we play, the games we play, the promotions we claim, how often/much we deposit, our average bet amount, etc.) gambling companies gain insight into their customers. This helps them to better understand our preferences, giving them a better shot at increases user engagement and having higher retention rates.

• Tailored marketing – Competition is massive in the online gambling industry. AI generated customer insights can help an operator create tailored marketing strategies. Targeting players with promotions and advertisements that appeal to them can help to maximize conversion rates.

• Improved security practices – Preventing fraud is important to the survival of online casinos. AI’s skill for advanced algorithms that analyze patterns allow it to speedily detect suspicious behaviour. This makes it an invaluable tool for identifying and preventing fraudulent activities, guaranteeing a secure environment.

• Enhanced responsible gaming measures – AI tools can encourage responsible gaming among players and helps iGaming operators to monitor player behaviour. Through behaviour monitoring, operators can provide quick intervention and resources to players who may be showing signs of problem gambling.

How AI benefits casino players

Knowing why the online gambling industry is using AI for gambling, probably gives you a pretty good idea as to how AI can benefit our gaming experiences as players.

More to the point, we primarily benefit from:

Enhanced user experience

The integration of AI into gambling platforms gives operators the ability to use algorithms and analytics to help them develop better gaming experiences for their customers. As a result, we (as their customers) benefit from enjoying seamless cross-platform experiences designed with intelligent user interfaces, smart navigation, and gamification. We can easily access the features we like best in a responsive gaming environment that continuously improves as it learns.

Better games

When AI is used to develop games and is incorporated within the game itself, it learns as we play. This provides software companies with better insight into the types of themes and features we enjoy and those we don’t. This technology – among others – helps the iGaming industry create content and entertainment that is more engaging, innovative, and responsive. It’s the difference between playing an online slot with ground-breaking mechanics and features compared to one outfitted with the 5×3, fixed paylines, cookie-cutter format. Or the difference between playing online poker against traditional computer software and online poker against intelligence computer software that learns how to bluff.

Customized experiences

Who doesn’t enjoy it when a company remembers your personal preferences and offers you services suited to your tastes and/or requirements? We like to matter as customers, and artificial intelligence helps gambling sites show us that they’re paying attention to our likes and dislikes. Through our gaming trends, they discover what games we enjoy, the promotions we like, and how often we play. By tracking us (with rather impressive accuracy) they can point us in the direction of new gaming experiences we might like, alert us to promotions we’re likely to claim, and reward us for loyalty. For instance, where I play, the online casino is very aware I’m an online slots fan and frequently offers me free spins promotions or notifies me about special slots campaigns or tournaments.

Responsive customer service

Sometimes, we need to talk to a human to have an issue resolved. Most of the time, however, automated customer support can do the trick. More importantly, its available 24/7. This is exceptionally important for online gambling players, since we can play at any time of the day or night. Chatbots are getting more human-like and much better at assisting us with our queries due to having access to a wealth of data, including our preferences and habits. As these systems improve, they become better equipped at providing us with logical, empathetic, and personalized responses.

Safe gambling practices

AI and gambling technology is a definite plus for us in terms of overall security. Personally, I’m far happier making deposits and betting real money in an online environment that I know uses top security protocols. AI technology can help to prevent data theft and boost fraud detection to ensure a safe entertainment space.

Responsible gaming systems

It is imperative that we have access to responsible gambling tools to help us stay aware and in control of our gambling behaviour. However, AI takes this to the next level by detecting when we’re showing signs of problematic gambling and flagging this for the gambling site. Customer support representatives can then reach out to us to bring the unhealthy patterns that have been identified to our attention.

How AI and gambling can be harmful

One of the biggest issues of AI and gambling – as can be said for just about any industry – is that artificial intelligence is still a new technology. It learns quickly, but it’s far from perfect and can be just as easily used for nefarious purposes as it can for good intent. This makes its rapid expansion a cause for concern.

Some ways in which AI and gambling can be harmful include (but is not necessarily limited to):

• Tracking customers to exploit players and manipulate their behaviour
• Cheating and fraud
• Privacy issues
• Questionable fairness/Algorithm bias

In an effort to minimize and prevent harmful AI practices, online gambling platforms are working with gambling regulatory authorities to develop guidelines and standards for the ethical use of artificial intelligence within the industry. The main goal of this collaboration is to create a safe, fair, and responsible gaming environment.

To ensure a secure, fair, and responsible experience as an Ontario online casino player, the safest course of action is to gamble only at those gambling destinations with an iGaming Ontario license.  

Will artificial intelligence casino experiences be better in the future?

There’s no telling what the future holds – good or bad – for AI and gambling. That said, it’s highly likely that the use of the technology in online gambling should lead to more enhanced and (hopefully) securer, engaging user experiences. Some of these experiences may include:

• The incorporation of more VR and AR technology – more immersive life-like experience.
• Dynamic, real-time gameplay – games that learn from player decisions to create a more engaging and less predictable playing experience.
• AI live dealer game integration – enhancing realism and interactivity in the live games space.
• Mainstream use of blockchain technology – decentralized systems offer greater transparency and security and could address some AI security and fairness challenges.
• Ongoing innovation – continuously adapting to create the most engaging and cutting-edge gaming experiences.

With the above potential improvements in mind, will AI lead to a better iGaming future? Only time holds that truth bomb. All any of us can say with certainty at the moment is that artificial intelligence is a huge part of the online gambling experience. Its impact is profound and is only likely to grow as the technologies and the iGaming industry grows.

On a personal note, for the most part it doesn’t bother me that AI is used in online gambling. I can understand the various benefits artificial intelligence offers the industry, and I’m all for enhancing my gaming experience and security. Still, there is a part of me that doesn’t appreciate constantly having my behaviours analyzed and tracked. Furthermore, I find our increasing use of this technology, how it influences us, and our growing reliance on it in our daily lives, worrisome…not Terminator movies-level worrisome, but maybe WALL-E movie-level worrisome…🤨

What about you? What are your thoughts and feelings about AI and gambling?

Until next time, good luck and have fun.

Mia 👩‍💻

*All links and images in this post are for informational purposes only.