Ever since it hit the mainstream in November 2022, AI has become a staple of our lives. Pretty much everywhere you look, whether you know it or not, AI is there just doing its thing.
You might even have unwittingly stumbled across images made from AI (including photographs) or read text that is AI.
The truth is—in some way, shape, or form—AI is everywhere. It controls web servers. It controls pricing. It makes decisions for humans.
It can code. AI can do everything. Therefore, it is no surprise that AI is helping to reshape the iGaming experience.
Let’s look at how. We will be focusing on iGaming here, but we do want to point out that there is a lot of overlap between iGaming and the wider world when it comes to how artificial intelligence is used.
Personalized Recommendations
iGaming companies, including casinos and betting sites, thrive on getting customers to part with their hard-earned cash.
Most customers only play certain games or bet on particular sports. For example, some play online roulette only, and if you’re interested in playing online roulette then you can find their games here.
Online casinos and sportsbooks want to nudge people towards the games they play the most, as that is how they get their cash.
As a result, a lot of platforms are starting to look at the games their players play the most and recommend similar games that they’ll love.
This keeps people playing for longer and spending more cash. You will also notice this away from the iGaming world too.
Stores like Amazon, etc. are always improving their product recommendations based on knowledge gained from AI.
Streaming giants such as Netflix use algorithms and AI to tailor-make personalized recommendations to their customers too—basing recommendations off past watches can save viewers time in picking their next show or movie, especially when there is an abundance of choice.
Fairness
Online casinos have a legal obligation to ensure their games are fair. This is why many companies are employing AI to check their algorithms, carry out analysis of randomness, etc.
We must admit that the use of AI to check fairness is still in the early stages. We doubt many online casinos will check game fairness using purely AI as AI cannot be trusted 100% right now, but we wouldn’t be surprised if there is a complete transition later—removing the human element may lead to more randomness from the games.
Fraud Prevention
iGaming platforms, e-commerce sites, and banking platforms are now all relying heavily on artificial intelligence to help combat fraud.
When there is a lot of money at stake, fraud often happens. Businesses, including iGaming companies and banking companies (where there is a legal obligation to prevent fraud), spend millions and millions of dollars per year combatting it.
They employ people and use advanced software that can analyze where fraud is potentially happening, stopping it in its tracks.
Artificial intelligence is making this process easier, and far more affordable. AI can spot fraud that may take ages for a human, or some of the older software, to spot.
It can also learn much more efficiently when it comes to spotting future fraud and can help take preventative measures, or at the very least, inform the relevant humans who can do so.
While this isn’t directly going to have an impact on the actual players at the online casino, it will bring down costs for those running the iGaming platforms, and there is a small chance that players can be protected too, since a lot of the fraud happens with stolen data.
The area it might impact current players is through analysis of how an account is currently being used.
We have noticed that some iGaming platforms are trying to spot when accounts are used in a slightly different way from before, and they will suspend them until they can be checked properly. This can help prevent accounts from being hacked and suspended.
Responsible Gambling
Problem gambling is a large issue within the industry and companies have a legal obligation to promote responsible practices.
This includes regular reminders telling people not to gamble outside their means or as a form of making money, helping people to set limits on their accounts, and carrying out regular checks to make sure people are not falling into the spiral of problem gambling.
In the past, while some of this was automated, the vast majority of the responsible gambling checks needed to be carried out manually.
When you bring human checks into the equation, it costs money, and things often get missed.
This is why many iGaming companies are trying out AI to detect problem gambling as soon as it happens. The AI program can then handle the situation properly, at least until a human is added into the mix.
This can help to protect both the gambler and the company, ensuring that the company can protect their legal obligations and the gambler can protect their money.
Improved Odds Calculation
Some iGaming platforms that offer betting are using AI to calculate betting odds.
Sure, there was some algorithm happening on the back end in the past, but, as with all algorithms, they can become outdated and inaccurate.
Companies employing the use of AI for their odds calculation are seeing more dynamic betting odds, more realistic betting odds, etc.
It wouldn’t be too surprising if the vast majority of reputable sports betting sites ended up using AI to create their betting odds in the future, particularly for live gambling, as it does lead to far better income.
Better Customer Support
This is another thing that is also happening outside of the world of iGaming. Many major platforms are now using AI chatbots, which are sometimes indistinguishable from the real thing, to carry out their customer support work.
This often leads to far faster and cheaper customer support (AI bots are available all day every day whereas people are not), and sometimes better, easier-to-understand solutions for customers.
AI can even offer support in other languages at a moment’s notice. Since many major online casinos fall short on the customer support front, this is a good feature and one that will likely be employed by most online casinos.
Final Thoughts
AI is transforming the iGaming industry in a series of ways, from enhancing user experiences, improving security, and optimizing game development all the way to creating personalized recommendations to fraud detection and responsible gambling measures.
AI-driven innovations are reshaping the way players interact with online casinos and betting platforms, and as the technology grows at a rapid rate, so do its implications and potential uses.
