Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more integrated into our daily activities. It is also going to enter the business world, with online casinos and gambling being a major benefactor.
The online casino industry is huge. It generates billions of dollars every year. But in order to stay ahead of the curve, it must continue to invest in technology like AI.
Senior officials are now learning how they can implement AI into their various strategies that will improve a player’s experience and the company’s bottom line.
So, having said all of this, here are 5 ways casinos will use AI.
1. Improved Computer Competition
Chess and poker can be solved by a computer but it takes an extraordinary amount of power for artificial intelligence to solve them. However, there have been some big updates in this area.
Back in 2017, the Brains vs. Artificial Intelligence: Upping the Ante challenge was issued to some of the best poker players in the world. They were to face up against Libratus, an AI, over 120,000 hands to see who would come out on top.
In the end, Libratus took the pros for a combined sum of over $1.7m.
While the money won was not real, it showed how smart the AI really was. Tuomas Sandholm, one of Libratus’ developers, said: “A.I.’s ability to do strategic reasoning with imperfect information has now surpassed that of the best humans.”
Generally speaking, poker isn’t played against a computer. Nevertheless, it shows how AI and machine learning can be used to analyze behavior and use mathematics to create a house edge for a casino.
This technology is not limited to just poker though. For example, it could be applied to sports betting line movement equal action on both sides. If this were to happen, it would change online sports gambling forever.
2. Analyzing Player Behavior
While behavior can be analyzed to create an edge, it can also be used to create an ideal playing experience – similar to how land-based casinos adapted their layout to keep players gambling.
This information can be used by casinos to understand why players choose to play certain games over others, as well as the reasons behind quitting a session. From here, the data can be used to reverse engineer what elements of each game are popular or use it to maximize their profits.
3. Prevent Cheating
Players traditionally cheat in eSports by using a bot that mimics the actions of a human player. The gaming industry has had to adapt to prevent this type of cheating, but the technology can also be used to win money from an online casino.
Playing at an online casino has a series of benefits you are not able to create at a land-based casino. For example, you can easily read some charts or use a calculator at home, but you will suffer penalties if you try and use them at a live game.
This has led to some people in the online casino industry worried. As machines get smarter, they may eventually appear human enough to bypass the casino’s online security, play perfectly against the house and take home huge sums of cash.
Therefore, as Erica Young points out on OnlineCasinoGems.com, AI can help to improve the security of online casinos. This could be in the form of an advanced CAPTCHA system or some form of AI that can detect other AI bots.
No matter what the solution ends up being, it sure places a bit of pressure on a traditional casino’s stance of letting players do what they want to try and win, as long as it doesn’t take away their edge.
4. Better Customer Service
Whether it’s over the phone or via live chat on a website, everyone knows what it’s like to be in contact with customer service that is clearly not actually operated by a human. Thankfully,
New, advanced bots are able to access and process information about a player based on their playing habits and preferences. This means that they can provide a more personalized response to their queries and in a much quicker fashion.
If the player still wishes to contact a human instead of the bot, records of the ‘conversation’ can be passed on to the agent best suited to dealing with the problem.
A recent study by Oracle showed that 78% of brands “have already implemented or are planning to implement artificial intelligence and virtual reality by 2020 to better serve customers.”
This means that online casinos will be implementing much more helpful customer service agents on their sites if they haven’t done so already.
5. Prevent Problem Gambling
While online casinos are a business aiming to make as much money as possible, casinos will use AI for a much greater cause: problem gambling.
Kindred Group recently asked their community how they think AI could be used to detect early signs of problem gambling. They have also partnered with BetBuddy, a gambling analytics company, and the City University of London to create the Player Safety Early Detection System (PS-EDS).
This technology will be used to determine how long players spend at an online casino, how much money they are depositing into their accounts when they deposit, the games they play and the stakes they are playing at.
PS-EDS then analyzes the data to spot any bad habits before a player develops a gambling problem.
According to the creators of this technology, 80% of players change their behavior thanks to PS-EDS.
Further, the AI could offer solutions like automatic timeouts and implementing mandatory deposit limits so they never go above and beyond their means.
Conclusion
It’s simple enough to predict how AI is going to affect the future, but in reality, we are at its mercy. AI is going to affect every industry, including online casinos, and it’s only a matter of time until it becomes the norm. The above ways casinos will use AI show that there are going to be so many benefits for both the players and the providers themselves to create the best possible experience.
