Thought casinos didn’t exist in Nagpur? While there are plenty of news items about underground gambling dens being busted, it is true that casino gambling is illegal in Nagpur – at least physical casinos. Since it is mainly left to the states in India to regulate their gambling, there are only a few states where there are physical casinos (including Goa, Sikkim, and Daman) – and casinos are often floating in the river.
Simply because Nagpur doesn’t have any legal physical casinos on the ground (or the water), doesn’t mean that casino gambling is entirely out of the question. Online casino gambling is a flourishing industry – and while Indian states Nagaland and Sikkim are starting to create their own online gambling legislation, others have not.
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As such, in states where online legislation is not explicitly prohibited (such as Maharashtra), offshore operators are able to offer their casinos to residents, so long as Rupees are available as a payment method and earnings are disclosed for taxation.
The online gambling market
Online gambling is now a mature industry, advancing over the past 20 years into a huge market. The latest figures put the value of the worldwide market at USD 127.3 billion by 2027, with an estimated CAGR of 11.5% from 2020 to 2027. High growth is spurred by more players coming online during the COVID-19 crisis.
This means that casinos are upping the ante and getting bigger and brighter, with a better selection of graphics and gameplay, but also smarter, with the introduction of AI to both help players but also protect them, as well as to protect the house also. There is plenty of interesting technology transforming casinos, however, AI is certainly one of the more complex areas to examine.
AI in recommended games
One of the ways in which AI is helping out casinos is by using behind the scenes recommendation engines for players. Much like Spotify can recommend songs and artists that you like based on your listening history, demographics, and other users similar to you, so too can online casinos.
If you are ever playing at an online casino and you notice you get different recommended games to play than a friend who is playing on the same site, then this will be due to a recommendation engine.
AI in uncovering bots
Bots are an issue when it comes to online gambling, as they can look at cards and follow a complex series of equations to try and gain the upper hand in a round of poker, for example. It’s no surprise that machines can be better at playing games of skill than humans – the IBM chess machine Deep Blue could beat a chess master over 20 years ago.
This is why it is extremely important for online casinos to be able to identify and ‘kill’ bots, so that fair play among human competitors is the actual result of the game. If bots were running rampant across games with an element of skill, then we would be in a lot of trouble.
AI in detecting fraudulent transactions
Have you ever had a fraudulent transaction on one of your bank or other financial accounts? Since online casinos hold plenty of players’ funds in their accounts, they need to be very careful to be on the lookout for fraudulent transactions. Fraudulent transactions usually need to be ‘eaten’ by the house, if they don’t have the right insurance.
This is why plenty of online casinos turn to reputable banks or financial institutions themselves to look after the transaction and money storage side of things. AI can spot unusual transactions – whether they are from strange accounts or strange locations, and put blocks on them or double-check with users first.
AI for problematic players
Problem gambling is a real worry for many households. While most online sites have a self-exclusion program, starting up new accounts in relatives’ names or on different websites can be an issue. Using AI, casinos can more readily identify problem gamers and their workarounds, effectively making it harder for them to play – and easing families’ minds.
And there’s more to come
With the expected rise in online gambling to continue, more money flowing into and out of online casinos, and advances in technology accelerating, you can be sure that these are just the start of AI’s uses within the industry.
