The gaming industry is ripe for increased artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and the online sports betting segment is one of the epicenters of that potential growth.
While some operators are grappling with accusations of AI-related controversies, there’s mounting evidence that sportsbook companies are using the technology in more docile ways and as a front-end tool that provides bettors with game-specific insights and assistance in building wagers. Operators taking that approach include Bet365, Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel and Hard Rock. As Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) points out, Hard Rock is one of the sportsbooks that scores particularly well it comes to customer grades on AI offerings.
“Hard Rock’s AI insights launched in March and was particularly well received in EKG’s recent hands-on app testing,” notes EKG analyst Brad Allen. “One tester called it ‘truly one of the best features I have seen across all these apps,’ while another praised the depth of information available without leaving the sportsbook.”
Hard Rock’s AI insights are essentially short AI-generated snippets on a specific game with some details on betting trends and player injuries.
Sportsbooks Using AI for Customer Engagement, Retention
At a time when some of the largest domestic sportsbook firms are elevating their promotional spending in bids to attract and retain customers, AI represents a cost-efficient avenue for boosting client acquisition, engagement and retention. As Allen notes, those are the primary reasons why more operators are likely to embrace the still-evolving technology.
“Commercially, we suspect the opportunity lies primarily in retention and engagement,” observes the analyst. “Keeping more of the research and discovery journey inside the sportsbook could prompt betting activity, encourage repeat visits and deepen customer relationships.”
As noted above, part of the AI value proposition for operators is leveraging the technology to help customers in the bet-building process, which can potentially stoke increased enthusiasm for high-margin bets such as parlays and same-game parlays (SGPs).
When It Comes to AI, Some Sportsbooks Stand Out
Some of the biggest sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel, are considered leaders in terms of AI implementation. However, customer satisfaction isn’t uniform across the industry.
“Feedback on FanDuel’s conversational AceAI was more mixed, with one tester reporting that it ‘didn’t seem to be adding any value at this point,” says EKG’s Allen. “While our small testing sample cannot establish broader customer preferences, the contrast in response to Hard Rock and FanDuel suggests execution matters.”
Due to AI adoption still being a fresh concept across all industries, including gaming, it’s likely that many companies have deployment issues to iron out and as that scenario improves over time, so too could customer engagement and satisfaction.
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