Exploring AI's Impact on Casino Dynamics: Exclusive Interview with Oleg Smolerov

AI Is taking over the world, it helps thousands of businesses daily. Is AI technology critical in increasing customer loyalty and engagement within casino operations?

To give you the short answer: absolutely. Loyalty and engagement are by-products of delivering a world-class user experience, and we think AI has a central role to play in this regard. ZingBrain AI’s entire purpose is to leverage the power of AI to make it possible for casinos to offer their customers a far more personal and bespoke gaming experience.

We’re seeing that those brands using personalized sections across their casino lobby - where the content is curated to the preferences of the user - score significantly higher across a range of KPIs. Our platform has already analyzed more than 10 billion transactions from 2.5 million users, and we’re now able to personalize UXs in real time. Of course, this is only possible using AI technology.l

How casinos can ensure the ethical use of AI for personalizing the gaming experience?

Responsible gaming is rightly a top priority for our industry; we don’t have a future unless we approach this in a sustainable way that minimises harm. I’d argue AI has an important role to play in helping brands and suppliers provide ethical and safe gaming. One example is at-risk players. We’re now able to use large data sets to pick up on early warning signs that a player may be at risk, and this means operators can intervene earlier than they may otherwise.

How can casinos use AI-driven predictive analytics to tailor marketing efforts and improve player retention?

This is precisely our mission. We’re able to help casino and sports betting operators create a customized and engaging experience for every customer, based on their gaming preferences and mood. Via simple APIs, we’re empowering operators to automatically arrange their casino main page to feature up to 10 different recommendation sections, each based on a different logic. These include games that match a player’s favourite mechanic and games that are popular among similar customers. It’s a powerful way to reimagine what an online casino can be to individuals, rather than a standard offering that may not truly resonate with anyone.

What are the biggest challenges you've faced in integrating AI into casino operations, and how have you addressed them?

Building our model has been a huge undertaking; fortunately, we’ve assembled a team of AI experts and data scientists with years of experience in the field.

One issue we run into is the question of data sharing. Operators tend to be cautious when it comes to sharing data on players, but without this data, it is impossible to personalize it to any significant depth. We work hard to explain to operators that the data is secure, and only used to optimize UXs for their players. Indeed, the operator can fully obfuscate the data, including hiding countries, languages and currencies, as well as normalizing the betting data without real numbers.

Looking forward, what new AI technologies or applications will be popular and in demand shortly in the casino industry?

I firmly believe AI will touch just about every part of the online casino industry over the coming years. We’re focused on personalization, but we’re already seeing some really exciting developments elsewhere.

There’s customer service, where AI chatbots are already providing around-the-clock support in multiple languages. Sportsbook trading is another, where there is the potential to automate the entire process and reduce the amount of time markets are down. Using AI to detect cheating, bonus abuse and other unfair behaviour is also a fast-growing area. One area I’m personally very excited about is bonusing, and the increased possibility of using AI tech to ensure that bonuses are truly personal, meaning the right player receives the right bonus at the right time.

It is clear, this technology is already transforming our sector, and that’s only going to accelerate.

AI technology has already had a significant impact on the iGaming industry in key areas such as marketing and customer relations. From enhancing customer service to preventing fraud, it is clear that it can play a major part in corporate growth and development. Not only this but by utilising AI and embracing the change that it brings, companies can work with it, rather than against it, to bring about mutually beneficial factors such as more personalisation, better user engagement and loyalty.