Artificial intelligence is transforming the iGaming and sports betting sectors, from player personalisation to real-time fraud detection and predictive betting insights. But as the industry races to innovate, experts warn that cultural nuances, ethical boundaries, and regulatory gaps could determine whether AI becomes a force for progress or manipulation.
Personalisation and performance: AI reshapes player engagement
Across the global iGaming sector, artificial intelligence has shifted from buzzword to backbone. Companies are using it to personalise player experiences, streamline compliance, and reinvent how games are built.
“The most significant applications we’re seeing right now are dynamic lobbies,” said Keith Zammit, CEO of Elevate AI, speaking to SiGMA News. “With AI, we can achieve hyper-personalisation by creating a lobby tailored to each individual player.”
This type of personalisation marks a step beyond traditional CRM systems, which grouped users into broad segments. Now, AI can anticipate player preferences in real time, offering not just game suggestions but unique user journeys.
Zammit explained that European operators focus largely on efficiency and responsible gambling tools, while in Asia, the emphasis lies on speed and experimentation. “Europe is a more mature market,” he said. “AI is being adopted with a focus on optimisation—lifetime value, responsible gambling, and CRM flows. In Asia, the focus is on high velocity and micro-level personalisation, even embedding AI inside the games themselves.”
AI’s growing influence extends beyond player experience. It’s also transforming how companies detect risk. Zammit described one new system capable of reading behavioural cues in real time: “It can predict whether a player is angry, sad, excited, or anxious. Instead of waiting until someone has lost thousands, it identifies those emotions instantly and connects them to support.”
The regulatory race: balancing innovation and protection
But as AI rewrites the rulebook of online gaming, regulators are struggling to keep up.
During a panel titled “AI in iGaming: Saviour or Black Mirror?” held at the SiGMA Euro-Med Summit, participants explored whether AI can be both profitable and ethical. Sharon Xuereb, Senior Associate at Camilleri Preziosi, argued that AI “sits in the middle of the road: neither saviour nor dystopian by default.” While she welcomed tools that can reduce harm, she questioned whether current EU laws, including the AI Act and GDPR, were sufficient to contain the risks.
While many emphasise the promise of artificial intelligence to make gambling safer and more efficient, others took a more sober view. Kush Desai, founder and CEO of Source Code Lab, commented: “AI manipulates—it’s designed to,” he said. “The issue isn’t whether it does, but where we draw the limits.” He warned that Europe’s increasingly strict regulatory stance could stifle innovation and drive companies toward more permissive regions such as the US, where US online casinos and betting platforms are already embracing AI.
For Xuereb, the key lies in transparency and human oversight. “Personalisation can feel empowering,” she said, “but it’s legally defined as profiling under GDPR. Regulators must ensure automation doesn’t cross into manipulation.”
Jaguar Gal, CEO of Jaguar Reg&Comp, struck a more optimistic tone. “AI is the natural next step for iGaming if we want to evolve the industry,” she said. “It’s not a saviour, but it’s a powerful tool that can move us forward.”
The trio agreed that enforcement remains the greatest challenge. As Xuereb put it: “It’s one thing to write laws on paper; it’s another to enforce them in industries where data, AI, and gaming intersect.”
