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From the moment in 1997 that the Computer Program ‘Deep Blue’ defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov, its only been a matter of time until Artificial Intelligence (AI) entered the world of online gaming.
Recent progress has been made, with the next generation of AI computers defeating Go champions. Even more recently the inventively-named, ‘Deep Stack’, defeated 10 out of 11 professional Poker players who participated in a total of over 3000 games as part of a scientific study into AI. The 11th player also lost to Deep Stack, however, by an insignificant margin that the researchers decided was not large enough to be statistically relevant.
However, is it all doom-and-gloom? Remember The Matrix, Skynet and Terminator? The ultimate plan of computer boffins is definitely to enable machines to gain innate and efficient knowledge, in such a way whereby they might be able to learn, repeat, evaluate and modify their own behaviour and change their patterns in response to their environmental stimuli.
Don’t worry, Judgement Day is science-fiction and Skynet is not sweeping in to steal your Welcome Bonus or take over your favourite online progressive slots, video poker or Live Dealer Games. In fact, it is quite the opposite.
AI will be your new best friend in Online Gaming
AI is making radical changes in most industries in the recent years. Self-driving cars, security analysis, medicine and health care will be specific industries to benefit and most industries will experience visible changes. With the transition of gambling to the online mode, the technology will only enhance the players gaming experience to higher levels. What can we possibly expect in the years to come? It is already noticeable that AI has become a significant tool for the benefit of both online casinos and players. For example, AI has been used already for some years to enhance the fairness and competitiveness of online casino games, a welcome enhancement for both the players and casinos alike.
What lies ahead for AI and Online gaming?
For some time now, traditional land based casino layouts have been studied deeply and modified to better anticipate their player’s needs. Online casinos have been given the same treatment.
Using enhanced AI information into the future, online casino sites will be better equipped to anticipate their players’ needs and figure out what makes them play, quit, or change games the most. The winner will be the player who will experience better games based on quicker AI responses to their own human desires, likes and dislikes.
A.I.’s ability to perform strategic reasoning with imperfect information has now surpassed that of the humans. Imagine that type of technology being applied to producing betting lines that get 50/50 action on either side of the line on a more consistent basis!
Better Online Casino Customer Service
With AI, online casinos will no longer have an excuse for their customers to be dissatisfied. The days of online casinos guessing about customer satisfaction are officially over. For those of you players who haven’t quite cosied up to the idea of machine learning and customer service chatbots, rest assured: you will benefit greatly. Ironically, the “personalisation” so many players badly crave is being made possible by Big Data and AI. This is more than just personalising your casino landing pages to your region, currency or language preferences. This means proactively providing the information you want about what games you play and your success rate in them before you ask for it. AI will be answering questions about your favourite game options or your Paypal withdrawal times for that big progressive slots win before you even ask them. Knowing if you’re happy or unhappy—and fixing it—before you even have an opportunity to pick up your phone to call customer support.
Better Online Gaming Experience
AI systems can potentially establish intelligence connections between player’s behaviours and the gaming platform itself. The gaming platforms could potentially analyse the customer priorities and personalise different betting options according to personal expectations and needs. Understanding customers is one of the most important techniques in online casinos retaining customers. AI will not only make your gaming experience smoother into the future but will also be capable of responding to your personalised preferences through various channels including mobile applications, social networks, and much more.
All these changes are potentially increasing the popularity of online gambling into the future. A gaming-like experience with an AI inspired hassle-free gaming environment should play a significant role in connecting with the younger generation in the near future.
Problem Gambling Prevention
AI can already monitor specific and personalised gaming patterns and changes in behaviours over a period of time to assess whether a player is developing a gambling problem or not. Early detection by software such as the PS-EDS (Player Safety Early Detection System) developed by Kindred, City University of London and gambling analytics company BetBuddy greatly improves the positive outcomes of an early intervention to successfully prevent a player developing a destructive gaming pattern.
Preventing Cheating
As mentioned earlier, artificial intelligence is rapidly taking over many industries worldwide. Even the random number generators used in online casino games are a result of AI advancements. It’s not fanciful or science fiction to imagine a security AI set up to prevent another AI from cheating in its online casino. Online casinos are already using rudimentary AI technology as a security layer against cheating and the technology is improving rapidly to protect online players. Who knows, we may soon see individual AIs running as administrators of each casino game. That will not only ensure the security of online casinos and provide fair play on both sides, but it may enable software providers to design more enhanced and more intuitive online casino games than what we currently have.
Far from Skynet or The Matrix taking over, these are just a few positive uses of AI that could apply to the online casino industry in the coming years and who knows what more positive uses and solutions exist.
