How Can AI and Machine Learning Reshape the Betting Industry

Gambling is a lucrative business, and has become more popular than ever in recent years, with online casinos and betting sites opening left, right, and center. Furthermore, the rising esports betting industry created an entirely new market for punters worldwide, turning the online gambling industry into a multibillion-making machine.

Naturally, the industry now relies heavily on technology, and artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to change gambling as we know it, for players and venues alike.

Odds are an essential aspect of betting, and gambling establishments often rely on oddsmakers - either experienced individuals or consulting companies - to create them. Oddsmakers crunch the data on player and team performance, team schedules, and a ton of other information, to create equally competitive odds on both sides of the betting line.

Even though this process is now largely computerized, it still needs time, taking even longer when multiple bet types come into play. However, if there's one thing that machine learning excels at, it's processing data at high speeds, accelerating the process with the help of decision-making algorithms.

Machine learning can categorize new data, and translate it into insights sportsbooks can use to provide players with more accurate and competitive odds, while simultaneously ensuring better profits for themselves.

Players, too, can benefit significantly from AI implementation. For example, several sportsbooks already integrated helpful bots that assist new players with placing their first bets. With the proper use of AI, these bots can be customized to cater to individual needs, basically granting every player access to a personal manager.

Virtual assistants can recommend new casino games or new casino markets to players. Simultaneously, AI could be used to guide punters through all the important data so they can bet more efficiently. This can be particularly appealing to newbies who are unfamiliar with and intimidated by the intricacies of sports betting and encourage them to partake.

Of course, not everyone is going to rely on legal gambling software or the assistance of a sportsbook AI. Superhuman poker-playing bots like Pluribus are well-known, and although Pluribus was developed to showcase AI advancement, players often use similar software to cheat. This is especially problematic for games like poker, where frauds rob other players of their winnings by having an unfair advantage.

Gambling establishments are constantly battling fraud, and AI advancement can worsen the problem significantly. Still, the best approach seems to be fighting fire with fire: Machine learning allows AI to recognize patterns in player behavior and betting patterns. By analyzing this data, an AI will automatically determine whether a player is relying on external software for help and ban them from the casino or the game.

There are several ways for AI to improve user experience, and one of them is to prevent punters from turning a pastime into an illness.

As you may know, online sportsbooks and casinos require an operating license to run. One of the most reputable license issuers around, the UK Gambling Commission, now requires casinos to implement stricter KYC (Know Your Customer) policies.

To comply with this, internet gambling venues ask for more and more information from players, such as proof of residence, proof of identity, and bank statements before payment processing. This serves to prevent underage gambling, having multiple accounts, money laundering, and much more.

However, bank statements can also be used to assess the players' financial situation, which can then be connected to their gambling habits. Even without such info, the AI would be able to recognize if the players are spending too much time playing and automatically issue a timeout to prevent gambling harm.

AI and machine learning are technologies that will not only change the gambling industry but shape the world. While these are only some of the ways AI and ML can improve this industry, the technology has many more uses, many of which we can’t even imagine yet. For now, the best we can do is follow AI’s advancement to see how the key players in the gambling industry are using it to their advantage.