The Rise of AI – Is it Good or Bad for Gambling?

Posted by Harry Kane on Monday, June 25, 2018

In the progressive and diverse world of online gambling, technology is emerging as a key driver of growth. At the heart of this evolution is concepts such as virtual reality (VR) and wearable technology, which promise to revolutionise gambling in the UK and finally bridge the gap between online and corporeal gaming.

While these innovative technology may continue to dominate the marketplace, however, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also having a positive (albeit) subtle impact on the virtual gambling experience. This technology is also deceptively controversial, as there is a decidedly fine line between the responsible use of AI and leveraging this to maintain an unfair house advantage.

In the post below, we’ll consider the application of AI in greater detail, while asking whether or not this will have a positive impact on the market as a whole.

The Pros of AI – How This Can Improve the Market

When discussing the pros of AI in the online gambling space, we cannot progress far without considering its impact on the delivery of customer service.

This is a space in which online gambling operators have excelled in the digital age, with many utilising live chat channels and social media interaction alongside 24-hour phone-lines and responsive emails.

Technology such as live chat is built on the basic principles of AI, of course, but historically it has been clear that such interactions are driven by bots rather than humans. With the development of increasingly smart and intuitive AI, however, this is fast becoming a thing of the past.

More specifically, we’re seeing classic chat bots replaced with more approachable AI representatives, which replicate human interaction and are capable of responding to queries based on the analysis of data and individual player behaviour (a little more on this later).

As you can image, this takes personalisation onto an entirely new level, and makes it possible for operators to deliver tailored and relevant responses through virtual, real-time chat channels. In this respect, brands will be able to leverage data and pass tickets to the best-equipped, available agent, while also providing customers with a quality of service that transcends the virtual realm.

According to a recent study by Oracle and estimated 78% of operators say that they have already begun to integrate AI technology with their customer service, and when combined with VR this could revolutionise the interaction between consumers and brands by the year 2020.

We touched earlier on the use of AI to identify relevant data and analyse this in real-time, which in turn helps with pre-empting consumer behaviour and tailoring the user experience accordingly.

In its purest form, this application of AI helps operators to develop an intuitive understanding of their players’ needs, as they strive to understand what motivates individuals and the key triggers and drive sustained interaction/

From a general perspective, operators also want to analyse large data sets to determine what elements popular games have in common, so that they can refine their libraries and optimise profitability. With this in mind, it’s fair to surmise that AI has the capacity to fully utilise player data and create individually fulfilling experiences online, without forcing operators to compromise on their bottom line margins.

The Cons – The Risks Posed by AI

The use of AI to acquire and analyse customer data is an interesting point, and one that highlights the controversial and polarising nature of the technology. After all, while it’s evident that this can be leveraged for the benefit of both players and operators, there’s also an opportunity for less scrupulous brands to utilise such technology in an unfair and detrimental way.

For example, it’s possible to apply AI in a way that predicts customer habits and identify individuals who play certain games excessively, before personalising promotions in a way that keeps these players spending their hard-earned cash.

This is an obvious risk when you consider that operators are using AI to scrutinise player’s betting habits, while there is clearly a delicate balancing between optimising the online gambling experience and modelling promotions to manipulate future behaviour.

Much depends on the outlook of individual operators, of course, as those who are motivated primarily by the desire to optimise profits may well find themselves using sensitive data in a reckless and irresponsible way.

AI is also at the heart of machine-learning computers, which have historically been pitted against human opponents in sports such as chess. For years, people have also speculated on whether an AI bot could perform better than human gamblers over a sustained period of time, with operators particularly keen to explore this concept.

To answer this query in relation to contemporary AI, last year saw a 20-day poker tournament called Brains vs. Artificial Intelligence: Upping the Ante take place in Pittsburgh, U.S.. The results were extremely insightful, as four experienced poker pros took on a machine-learning system called Libratus in a high-stakes poker game.

After a total of 120,000 hands were played, Libratus held the high stack with a whopping $1,766,250, confirming that AI had evolved to the point where it could simultaneously calculate mathematical probabilities and analyse its opponent’s behaviour to win a high proportion of competitive poker hands.

Now, while no online casino allows humans to play for money against machine-learning system or AI bot, this simulation showcased that such technology could be used to provide the house with an even greater edge in poker and other, online table games. This is something that regulators will need to keep a close eye on, particularly as this technology evolves further and continues to impact on the virtual gambling experience.

The Last Word

These pros and cons highlight the fascinating nature of AI, particularly when it is applied in a polarising marketplace such as the online gambling sector. Just as player behaviour can be analysed to unfairly tailor promotions and drive excess gameplay, for example, AI can also offer players access to tools such as loss-limits and automatic timeouts (which enables them to self-regulate their gameplay and safeguard their bankroll).

Given this and the fact that AI has the potential to be as empowering as it is intrusive, it’s hard to determine its potential impact on the future market. So long as regulators and operators work in alignment to leverage AI responsibility, however, there’s no reason why this technology cannot be applied to the benefit of both players and brands alike.