Artificial intelligence (AI) is still in its developmental stages, yet it has already positively affected many industries. Online bookies are not an exception. Since their inception, online betting sites have capitalized on emerging technologies to offer better services to their clients. And AI is proving to be a worthy investment in many ways, as detailed in this guide:

Online Betting and AI

The goal of any business is to make a profit. Often, this is possible when a business streamlines its efforts such that it gets good returns with minimal effort. Can AI do this for bookies? Of course!

1. Better Marketing

In the past, bookies spent a lot of time developing buyer personas and creating marketing ads to match. However, despite all this time, they would often market to the wrong people. For example, a punter who had little to no interest in basketball wagers would find themselves bombarded with basketball betting market ads.

AI has changed this in the following ways:

  • It learns punters’ preferences: This technology gathers information about a punter, enabling it to predict what the punter can enjoy and what they would not consider.
  • It eases marketing efforts: Once marketers have sufficient information about punters, they have an easier time detailing buyer personas. Their ads are thus more targeted, and they spend less money and effort while still reaping good returns.

Punters also appreciate seeing ads that relate to their interests.

2. Customer Retention

The sports betting industry has become more competitive over the years as more bookies have entered the market. This increased variety requires bookies to put their best foot forward if they are to remain relevant and retain their customers. Can AI help?

Yes! This technology offers personalized experiences in the following ways:

  • It suggests relevant betting markets to punters: Since punters have key preferences, the technology learns them and thus presents different options to punters. This way, a punter who does not have any interest in football will likely not see such ads.
  • It tailors the customer service experience: In the past, punters dealt with long waiting times before they could reach customer support. But now, they can interact with AI chatbots that direct them to available resources. In many cases, punters can get help without talking to humans.

Additionally, AI uses prompts that help punters navigate betting markets easily, making their experiences more enjoyable.

3. Improved Operations

Bookies handle a lot of data and must ensure their systems run smoothly. The use of AI has greatly aided them in the following ways:

  • Demand forecast: Introducing new markets to a site takes a lot of time and often involves capital investments. It is thus best that bookies test a market before putting in much effort. AI can predict the demand and, thus, the profitability of a market before it is even available to punters. Based on this, the bookie can determine if it is a good investment.
  • Financial projections: The heart of every bookie operation is the profits. And how better to gauge the profitability of a betting market than by projecting its financial growth? AI can use the available data to map years ahead, enabling the bookie to make tweaks where necessary. For example, if e-sports have better returns, the bookie can double down on this market to increase their ROI.
  • Odds calculations: Bookies hire statisticians to determine the right odds coupled with favorable vigs. AI improves these calculations by accounting for multiple other factors that would often take statisticians a lot of time to include in their analyses. As a result, bookies can up their commissions, offer favorable odds, and ensure they have covered most factors that can affect their profits.

AI is also integral to other operations, including IT services, boosting socialization on the site and improving the overall user interface. As bookies couple this with virtual reality in the coming years, betting experiences will become even more engaging, enabling punters and bookies to profit significantly.