Artificial Intelligence has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. More and more, AI technology is helping humanity with various aspects of our lives. Lately, many AI developers have been focusing on implementing AI in order to make the internet a better and safer place for everybody. Perhaps, some of AI’s best applications are to be found within the online gambling industry.
Here are some ways in which AI can, and should, be used to improve the online casino experience:
AI can catch hackers and cheaters
AI bots and algorithms have been used now for almost a generation by national security agencies and law enforcement agencies in order to track people online and red-flag potential criminal behavior.
Online casinos are starting to take a page from the American FBI, NSA and others by using the same tactics, albeit on a smaller scale. Ironically, often this winds up being AI seeking out other AI, since cheating in an online casino almost always entails using one or more bots to try to beat the system.
In Japan, AI is considered as one of the central elements that will contribute to an upgraded society in which the physical space and cyberspace are increasingly interconnected. It always seems like Japan is in the forefront of new technology. It will not come as a surprise if online casinos in Japan would be the first to really adopt and integrate AI in the gambling experience.
Fortunately, there are many ways to tell if a bot is being used at an online casino. And, once the cheater has been found out, they risk their account or accounts being shut down. In these cases, there will be no recourse and no money given out, so potential casino cheaters should beware!
AI and predictive advertising
This is probably the simplest and most common use of AI in online casinos at the time of writing. This type of rudimentary use of AI is known as “smart data”.
The premise is that the AI has access to the online casino’s database and starts to analyze it. The AI is looking at that data with the goal of improving the players’ online experience in every way possible. Often, this goes as far as subtly personalizing each individual experience.
This can take the form of AI-curated content seen by the player, such as personal ads or special offers. In some cases, the gaming experience itself can be altered for better engagement. A bit beyond this, AI is starting to be used outside the casinos’ websites or apps themselves, on the internet in general. This is with the goal of marketing online casinos to demographics where there may be lots of room for them to expand.
It’s possible, for example, that millennials (typically aged 30-40 years) are very much underrepresented in online casinos. Many of the smarter online casino operators are working hard to rectify what they see as an imbalance.
Naturally, all of this can definitely have a dark side. First off, there are some very potentially serious privacy issues that will need to be constantly looked at regarding predictive tweaking of the gaming experience. Secondly, this could possibly lead to players getting too attached to the experience; it could go as far as making more people more addicted to online gaming.
Ironically, AI can also be the main tool in the solution to the problem of addicted gamers.
AI and risk and harm management for potential problem gamblers
Gambling addiction has become a big problem. In part, this is due to the pandemic and the resulting lockdown restrictions. People all over the world now have good access to the internet, which is, naturally, a double-edged sword in terms of potential consequences.
There are many strategies currently in place to deal with compulsive gambling. The UK Gambling Commission, for example, has designed a program where people sign up voluntarily. This program then allows them to ban themselves from online gambling for an amount of time they choose.
Many people consider that this isn’t enough, however. By using AI to track potential problem gamblers, casinos would be able to message people to ask them if they need help, for example. This would be done when the algorithm detects patterns of online behavior typically associating with out-of-control gambling habits.
Once again, this would have to be done in a manner respectful of an individual’s privacy, and consistent with all current privacy laws and regulations.
AI can help improve customer service
Finally, AI algorithms can be very helpful in the area of customer service.
The above statement, even two years ago, would have still been false. But recent advances in technology are turning that around. AI customer service agents are capable of handling more and more customer needs as they get more advanced.
At the time of writing, AI bots are now capable of analysing a customer’s data in the same way a human customer service agent would. This means that many of the lower-level customer service requests will no longer require a lengthy human interaction to solve.
Of course, human customer service agents will probably always be necessary in some form, as some of the more complex customer service requests may be outside the AI’s purview. Also, there are some situations that will always require the “human touch.” However, we are definitely entering a new era in terms of what AI can do to reduce customer wait times while still resolving problems in a satisfactory manner.
In the end, it’s necessary for the world to embrace the growing use of AI, and learn to use it in an effective and responsible matter.
