Big Data has gotten, pardon us, a lot bigger over the last decade. Big Data is becoming an increasingly bigger part of our, and various businesses, life. Understanding and utilising big data sets can give companies, sectors and industries enormous benefits.
One such sector is the healthcare sector where Big Data & AI is used to develop new drugs and antibiotics. Big content platforms such as Netflix and Spotify also make use of Big Data and AI to customise playlists and recommendations.
Another business sector in particular that benefit from this is the online casino industry. The booming sector is, as the name implies, all-digital. It brings popular games such as online slots, blackjack, poker, and more to the digital sphere. Sports betting sites also fall under this category; a worldwide industry.
In the following, we will look at how the online gaming industry utilises Big Data & Artificial Intelligence to enhance its products and business strategies. This includes machine learning and the use of algorithms.
Help manage customers, brands and platforms
A lot of online gaming operators manage several different brands. These will differ in style, target group and bonus offerings. But, ultimately, they all lead to the same operator. The result is a massive data set, with a gigantic register of customers, customers addresses and other personal information.
Several players will also sign up at more than one of these sites, so you’d need a cool head and high concentration to keep track of all this information. Enter Big Data and machine-learning systems. With ease, these technologies let you organise and process information to an extent a human could only dream of.
Identify bonus abusers and other nefarious actors
Open your door to enough customers, and you’re sure to attract players with bad intentions, be it bonus abusers or money launderers. Bonus abusers refer to players whose sole goal of making an account is to use a free bonus. Typically, they target bonuses they are not eligible for, or they make several accounts on the hunt for more than one bonus.
Money launderers often target online casinos thinking they’re an easy target to convert dirty money into clean money. Often these scammers don’t realise that any serious gaming site has intricate security systems designed just to pick up on this type of behaviour.
Through sophisticated machine learning software and algorithms, these companies can spot certain patterns and anomalies, which in turn helps them make predictions and decisions.
Offer more sophisticated Live Casino games
The Live Casino genre is the fastest-growing category at most online casinos. Starting out as nothing more than a digital version of classic casino games, the live-streamed games in this category has evolved massively over the years.
Modern Live Casino games, such as Monopoly Live, offer augmented reality elements a hybrid gaming experience. Live Casino games in general, and these hybrid games in particular, rely on massive amounts of data to stream live feed directly to a player’s browser.
Identify problem gamblers
Any reputable online casino operator takes pride in their Responsible Gaming duties. They work hard to prevent problem gambling and offer various account limits which help in doing so. But these limits only help if they are actually used proactively by the players themselves. Picking up problem behaviour is a difficult task for a human employee.
By using AI and analysing Big Data sets, casino operators can easier identify problematic playing patterns and behaviours. This, in turn, will help to reduce the number of problem gamblers on their websites.
Customise and fine-tailor the product
We live in an era of customisation. The one-size-fits-all model of marketing and content production will leave you lagging behind in 2021 and beyond. People and customers expect to receive tailored content and customised experiences.
Online casino operators use Big Data sets and complex algorithms to get to know their players better. Way better. Then, they use this information to create a customised experience. One such example is tailored rewards, which means receiving bonuses such as Free Spins to games you actually enjoy playing. Casinos utilising these methods have a leg over the sites handing every customer spins to the same game.
Automated CRM content also greatly benefits both customers and casinos. By using machine learning and clever algorithms the CRM department can ensure they send the right content at the right time. This will in turn lead to higher turnover as well as higher customer satisfaction.
Benefits to sports-betting
Sports betting providers benefit tremendously from Big Data. Live betting has seen exponential growth over the years, in large part due to the possibilities big data offers. Being able to place live bets on a game in real-time has elevated the product to incredible heights.
Constantly leveraging technological advancements, sports betting operators have introduced live streaming of events in conjunction with live betting. A real-time stream of a sports event such as horse racing or a football match is only made possible through big data’s capabilities.
Free up company resources
Several iGaming companies have seen what great impact AI can have on all aspects of the business. By utilising algorithms and artificial intelligence for more “menial” tasks, such as for example data processing, they can free up manpower for more creative costs.
Not only does this greatly reduce costs, it also lets employees flourish in a creative environment. Which, surely, will lead to more productive employees in the long run.
Security
Security is imperative to any casino online. Sitting on treasure troves of personal and financial information, these websites are popular targets for hackers. Therefore, security is of utmost protection for any serious site.
AI plays a big part in any online security system, and the machine-learning software gets smarter for each week as it learns from hacking attempts and stress tests.
Virtual Reality: A future feature?
The online casino genre making the most out of rapidly growing technological possibilities is undoubtedly the Live Casino space. Bridging classic table games with augmented reality, today’s Live Casino cames offer a hybrid genre pushing the boundaries of casino games.
What lies ahead for such games? It’s not unreasonable to guess that Virtual Reality has a place in the industry in the future. Utilising big data sets to recreate a land-based casino through VR glasses, players can get a truly authentic and immersive experience from their own living room. Imagine walking from the Blackjack table to try a spin at Roulette, through a bustling casino lobby full of people and life.