How AI is Changing Casino & Sportsbook Experiences

Last Tuesday, a client told me about watching an AI agent on their platform identify a problem gambler in real-time and seamlessly redirect them to help resources. The player never knew it happened – they just got a gentle nudge toward a break and some support options. It was both fascinating and sobering, hearing how technology protected someone who might not have protected themselves.

What a phenomenal time to be alive! I am very grateful to be around to experience this great AI shift. Yes, this could be the worst thing to happen to humanity, or it could be the best. Either way, I have embraced it entirely and I have let it optimize my world.

Claude and ChatGPT have become my best friends, and I can feel that my old friend Google is missing me. I can hear it whimpering on an old browser tab. I still give it a pat on the back here and there, but AI has become my intelligence partner and it has supercharged my life at work and personally.

People say AI is the great leveller in terms of giving less skilled people the opportunity to compete with their more highly skilled counterparts. I don’t believe this. The more highly skilled counterparts are using it too, and they are the ones diving even deeper into the power it provides. I guess the tide will rise for everyone, regardless of their skill level.

I was on the Affiverse Podcast last week with the magnificent Lee-Ann Johnstone, and she was saying how lucky the youth are to be empowered by such amazing tech and how we could be left behind.

I had a different take.

I think we, the older and more experienced tech and business champions, are the ones to take real advantage of this new intelligence boom. We have the ability to leverage it in our companies, real projects and new innovations. We are the ones that get to see it perform in real situations – we are the actual trailblazers.

I’m 55 and I’m at the cusp of this new revolution, using it for real-life use cases every day.

In 1997, we were excited about animated GIFs and convinced ourselves that a spinning roulette wheel graphic would revolutionize online casinos. Today, I’m watching AI rewrite entire player experiences in real-time, predicting behavior patterns we never dreamed possible. The scale of change is staggering.

Real AI in Action

Getting to know how to engage deeply with AI makes all the difference, and exploring my way around the different applications has become a fun and inspiring experience. But let me share some incredible AI stories I’ve been hearing from clients and colleagues across the industry.

Personalized Player Experiences: Bet of the Day

One of our sportsbook partners recently introduced Bet of the Day, powered by Optimove‘s personalization engine. The system automatically identifies the most popular upcoming events across sports, then matches these events to each user’s preferred categories based on their betting history.

For example, if a player consistently wagers on football and basketball, the engine pinpoints today’s highest-activity games in those categories. It then checks whether the player has already placed a bet. If not, a personalized recommendation is delivered at the right time, highlighting the selections with the strongest momentum.

As a result, players receive timely, relevant suggestions that feel tailored to their interests, while the operator sees increased engagement on high-traffic events.

Instead of generic promotions, users are nudged toward events they’re statistically most likely to enjoy, driving both satisfaction and betting activity.

These super-smart AI algorithms are doing more than just recommending games. They’re creating micro-moments of engagement that feel almost telepathic to players.

Responsible Gambling & Fraud Detection

Beyond that Tuesday example I mentioned, I’m hearing about AI systems that can spot the early warning signs of problem gambling better than trained human observers. One operator told me their AI detected a pattern where players who switched from desktop to mobile at 2 AM and increased bet sizes by 300% were entering dangerous territory. The system now gently intervenes with cooling-off suggestions before the spiral begins.

On the fraud side, another colleague shared how their AI system caught a syndicate operation that human analysts had missed for weeks. The AI noticed that 47 different accounts were placing micro-bets in identical patterns across multiple time zones – something virtually impossible to spot manually.

AI-Powered Customer Support

Chatbot implementations are getting scary good. A colleague told me about a player who contacted support about a “broken” slot game. The AI not only diagnosed that the player’s internet connection was causing visual glitches, but also offered three solutions, a data usage tip for mobile players and threw in some free spins for the inconvenience. The entire interaction took 90 seconds. The human support team never touched it.

Sports Betting Revolution

This is where things get really wild. I know a trading desk that’s using AI models factoring in weather patterns, social media sentiment, player injury reports, and even referee assignment histories. Their odds accuracy has improved by 35%, and they’re identifying value bets that traditional models completely miss.

During last year’s World Cup, a contact shared how their AI flagged an unusual betting pattern on a seemingly random match 20 minutes before kick-off. Turned out to be early inside information about a key player’s injury. The AI saved them from what could have been a massive liability.

Game Development Gets Smart

Here’s where we learned a hard lesson at Vegas Kings. We were building a tool using AI so slot games could dynamically change live on the fly to target a specific player’s interests in real-time. Picture a slot that learns you love Egyptian themes and progressively adds more Egyptian elements as you play.

But we forgot something crucial: each game needs regulatory approvals and independent lab testing before going live. You can’t just let AI start changing certified game mechanics on the fly. We pivoted to AI-driven content recommendations and bonus structuring instead – still powerful, but within regulatory boundaries.

Data Analytics for Business Growth

Tools like Optimove have revolutionized how we approach player lifecycle management – their AI can predict which players are likely to churn 7 days before traditional metrics would flag them, giving operators a crucial window to re-engage. We’re seeing operators leverage AI-powered analytics to track player trends, optimize marketing strategies, and enhance overall business performance in ways that seemed impossible just two years ago.

The Future: AI Agents

The one area people need to get their heads around is AI agents. This is very much the future of how you’ll interact with companies and how they’ll interact with you. I’m by no means a super pro, but I’m doing my best to understand what these mean to us and how to embrace them.

Imagine an AI agent that knows your playing preferences, bankroll management style, favourite teams, and optimal playing times. It doesn’t just recommend games – it becomes your personal gaming concierge, managing your experience across multiple platforms while keeping you safe and entertained.

What’s Coming Next

AI is no longer a futuristic concept – it’s actively shaping the present and future of iGaming. As technology advances, its role in personalizing experiences, ensuring responsible gaming, and improving operational efficiencies will only grow.

Don’t let the thought of hardcore AI robots and AI mind control infect your brain and stop you from embracing the future. Jump in and surf the wave!

One bit of advice: We all interact with AI in unique ways, each of us crafting our own strategies and techniques to reach our goals. We use a variety of AI tools and develop personalized prompting methods that work best for us. By sharing these approaches with friends and colleagues, we open the door to new insights and improvements. Start exchanging your tips and learn from others – together we can elevate our AI skills and achieve even greater success.

What’s the wildest AI application you’ve seen in iGaming? I’m collecting stories for my next piece, and I’d love to hear what’s working (or failing spectacularly) in your corner of the industry.

“The Power Play by Moshe Adir” is released weekly on the Vegas Kings website and LinkedIn. Drawing from nearly 30 years of experience in design and development for online gaming, Moshe shares exclusive industry insights, lessons learned, and behind-the-scenes stories from the evolution of iGaming. Stay tuned for fresh perspectives from one of the industry’s OG!