New York Moves to Restrict AI-Powered Gambling Promotions

[Maslate]

I find this a good move by the government, with the growing popularity of AI now, the data it collects can easily be used against people or for the benefit of a certain business. In the gambling industry, if sportsbooks use AI on their platforms to analyze gamblers' behavior, they will understand their betting habits and know exactly who to target with personalized offers. But the New York State Gaming Commission seems to recognize this risk, which is why they are proposing restrictions on the use of AI for targeted gambling promotions. Instead, they want sportsbooks to take a responsible approach and that is when if AI detects signs of problematic gambling behavior, rather than sending more offers, sportsbooks should take appropriate action to help protect those players.

I see this as a good development, as instead of encouraging people to gamble even when there are signs of addiction, this approach could help address problem gambling.

But these regulations have not been finalized yet, I hope they will push through.

[alani123]

Well big deal... The gambling industry makes so much money that they could hire 10 indie studios at a time to make ads for them..
 Better yet, hire studios abroad which do the same work for a much lower sum. Good luck trying to regulate that. The American industry has been having a field day outsourcing to other countries for decades. There's no way this can be regulated on the state level. If new York wants gambling to give back to the community, maybe give more power to the state monopoly instead of legalising all sorts of shady websites to take the people's money.

[freedomgo]

The question is whether sportsbooks would really develop AI to detect the gambling behavior of their customers and stop them from gambling.

Because it doesn't make sense, you are running a business to make a profit, and your main source of income comes from people gambling, so when you see people gambling who could potentially increase your revenue and you decide to stop them.. this seems contradictory to their business goals. 

[el che]

The lobbying pushback from sportsbooks will be intense. The entire business model of sports betting relies on dynamic pricing and personalized promos to maximize customer value. Restricting how operators engage users threatens their revenue stream. At best we might see compromise measures like mandatory opt outs for personalized promos or baseline rules for flagging problem gamblers. But a full ban faces too many technical loopholes and economic pushback to survive.  

[yhiaali3]

It is good to see regulators such as the New York State Gaming Commission beginning to pay attention to how AI is being used in the betting and gambling industry. This is a positive step toward keeping pace with rapid technological advancements.

This is a good humanitarian step towards protecting players, especially addicts, but I think casinos will not like the news much because their primary goal is to make profits regardless of whether there are addicts or not.

[coinrifft]

Good to hear it, but how can they know if they are using powered AI gambling promotions?

One of the new rules would effectively adopt guidelines that New Jersey already uses, requiring sportsbooks to follow specific thresholds to identify at-risk bettors. The company would then be mandated to check in with those users. Another rule would bar companies from using artificial intelligence to customize bonuses or wagers.

And this might have been used by many sports bookies already. Although the proposal is about,

DraftKings, one of the country’s largest sports betting companies, has said it already follows the New Jersey trigger thresholds. Among them: depositing more than $10,000 in a 24-hour period or wagering more than $1 million in a 90-day period.

So if they find that someone has deposited in the threshold, they will,

The company would then be mandated to check in with those users.

[Wiwo]

This is a nice move AI gambling promotion have flooded our social media space lately and I was thinking this can only happen in my country because of the lack of media control.

Now that even New York faces the same challenge of unregulated Gambling promotion via the use of AI-generated content is a pointer that this is a global wave.

New developments really need new laws and restrictions, so for me this is a welcome development.

[Ziskinberg]

It is good to see regulators such as the New York State Gaming Commission beginning to pay attention to how AI is being used in the betting and gambling industry. This is a positive step toward keeping pace with rapid technological advancements.

This is a good humanitarian step towards protecting players, especially addicts, but I think casinos will not like the news much because their primary goal is to make profits regardless of whether there are addicts or not.

The purpose is good but I'm hoping the casinos will honestly do their job and comply with the regulations once they are approved.
So how will regulators ensure that casinos are doing the right thing, will they have access to the sportsbooks' AI reports? This is actually a good initiative but they need to ensure proper implementation and that sportsbooks will really follow the rules, as this could mean a loss of income on their part.

[Charles-Tim]

The question is whether sportsbooks would really develop AI to detect the gambling behavior of their customers and stop them from gambling.

Do they know the person's income? If the gambling site do not know how much the person is earning, I think they can only assume. What can be done is to advise the person, but which we all know that it will not definitely work.

Because it doesn't make sense, you are running a business to make a profit, and your main source of income comes from people gambling, so when you see people gambling who could potentially increase your revenue and you decide to stop them.. this seems contradictory to their business goals. 

The gambling sites can do things because of regulations just like the self-exclusion exists as a result of regulations, but it can not be to the point of the gambling sites deciding for gamblers.

[freedomgo]

The question is whether sportsbooks would really develop AI to detect the gambling behavior of their customers and stop them from gambling.

Do they know the person's income? If the gambling site do not know how much the person is earning, I think they can only assume. What can be done is to advise the person, but which we all know that it will not definitely work.

They don't need to know our income to do their job.

There are lots of things they can notice such as.

1. player constantly making deposits.
2. betting pattern like player like looks like not sleeping anymore.
3. chasing losses (very familiar)
4. sudden increase of bets.

All these can be flag by an AI.

The gambling sites can do things because of regulations just like the self-exclusion exists as a result of regulations, but it can not be to the point of the gambling sites deciding for gamblers.

But if its required for them then they have to. Otherwise, gamblers  need to accept the TOS when they use a casino, so if they will do that its legal.

[Cointxz]

I see this as a good development, as instead of encouraging people to gamble even when there are signs of addiction, this approach could help address problem gambling.

But these regulations have not been finalized yet, I hope they will push through.

It’s indeed a good move however this kind of behavior is being used too even by normal people specifically VIP manager and marketing department. They just use AI now to automate everything but they are doing this method in the past that’s why gamblers usually have exclusive bonus offers on our mail unique to each player betting pattern and behavior.

The new approach of using AI to determine this pattern and control gambler for addiction is good in paper but I doubt casino will follow it especially if it’s not heavily regulated.

This law is for US while most of the crypto online casino license cover outside US which has low percent following this method to control players impulsive gambling.

[rbynxx]

But the New York State Gaming Commission seems to recognize this risk, which is why they are proposing restrictions on the use of AI for targeted gambling promotions. Instead, they want sportsbooks to take a responsible approach and that is when if AI detects signs of problematic gambling behavior, rather than sending more offers, sportsbooks should take appropriate action to help protect those players.

But that's kinda complicated because how can they enforce that and notice everything? Do these casinos will have these authorities to check their algorithms, marketing or customer data to check everything and detect violations behind the scenes? I don't think so, that's a challenge to prove it all. I know this is kind of on the infancy stage yet and yeah let's all be hopeful it will be implemented or else this is just good on paper.

[Julien_Olynpic]

It all depends on what constitutes addiction. Even destructive financial behavior with large losses is a financial disaster for one person, while for another it's just a small loss of income. Casinos are businesses, as cynical as that may sound, and companies will try to make the criteria for addiction more lenient and vague. But overall, I believe the regulator's decision to make casino policies more accountable to vulnerable players is correct. This, incidentally, will contribute to the casinos' reputation and their long-term revenue growth.

[stadus]

It all depends on what constitutes addiction. Even destructive financial behavior with large losses is a financial disaster for one person, while for another it's just a small loss of income. Casinos are businesses, as cynical as that may sound, and companies will try to make the criteria for addiction more lenient and vague. But overall, I believe the regulator's decision to make casino policies more accountable to vulnerable players is correct. This, incidentally, will contribute to the casinos' reputation and their long-term revenue growth.

The purpose is good but the implementation is more crucial here. Because I believe if they just rely on casinos to report these cases, there's a high possibility that some casinos won't report them accurately. In fact there's even been a case where Dabble Sports was penalized over A$1 million by Australian regulators because they failed to close the accounts of self-excluded gamblers and even sent them hundreds of marketing messages.

[Saltysugar99]

Such AI related changes in the gambling industry will definitely have a positive impact. Because using AI, it is possible to not only analyze the habits of players but also identify their symptoms. How they become addicted, in what situations they repeatedly deposit and try to recover losses, these things will be known very easily. As a result the gambling industry will be able to completely control the mentality of gamblers. Its impact will also have a positive impact on other gambling industries in the world. Especially when gamblers do not want their casino AI to be integrated and used for research on their usage they will try to avoid those sites. Therefore this step will not only have a positive impact on any particular casino but also on other popular casino sites in the world.

[Dareo]

While it is great to hear this initiative from the government, it is a little hard to believe that casinos will actually save customers by harming their own business. Sportsbooks are in business to earn profits and if they realize that a person is in the process of getting addicted, they don't prevent them from doing so, but use the algorithm to make it easier for players to place bets. For example many times it is seen that although responsible gambling is talked about on various betting sites, when a person keeps losing, he is kept on the site by luring him with various types of cashback or free spins, So rather than waiting for laws to be made to reign in AI, let's watch the budget in our own pockets since every company's AI system is not going to benefit the common man.

[$crypto$]

The question is whether sportsbooks would really develop AI to detect the gambling behavior of their customers and stop them from gambling.

If a sports betting site develops this tool then it will not be profitable, unless this rule is already a law in the area, for the site this will be a hindrance.

Because it doesn't make sense, you are running a business to make a profit, and your main source of income comes from people gambling, so when you see people gambling who could potentially increase your revenue and you decide to stop them.. this seems contradictory to their business goals. 

I have seen dai several states regulate to reduce gambling addiction, the results of his no one entirely successful.
I think eliminate the bonuses offered by the casino --- cashback/rakeback, VIP status on their account, no new promotional offers or any type of remove all then it will reduce a bit of addiction.
It could be because promotion is what keeps people gambling, whereas installing addiction detection AI tools is clearly against business.

[Russlenat]

But that's kinda complicated because how can they enforce that and notice everything?

Those gamblers are in their system, so it's not hard to send them notice if that's what you meant. however, if you mean notice like notice the trend, that's the job of an AI, it's on the programming side.

Do these casinos will have these authorities to check their algorithms, marketing or customer data to check everything and detect violations behind the scenes? I don't think so, that's a challenge to prove it all. I know this is kind of on the infancy stage yet and yeah let's all be hopeful it will be implemented or else this is just good on paper.

Of course they have, when you are a gambler, you follow the TOS, and that's the rules the casino will impose. Putting that as additional to the TOS would not be hard.

[iv4n]

If this passes, can we expect New York to ban millions of "gambling-related links" too? And does anyone really believe that will change anything?

The Philippines introduced POGO, in Brazil, Lula went nuclear on the gambling industry with his "Provisional Measures"... States love talking about gambling and being tough, but they also love collecting fees & taxes. All I see are great headlines, but I'm not sure it can change anything in practice...

I believe the gambling industry really needs proper regulations, but so far, I just don't see any meaningful actions.

[stompix]

Well big deal... The gambling industry makes so much money that they could hire 10 indie studios at a time to make ads for them..

Read the article: it's not ads, it's the bonuses!

Another rule would bar companies from using artificial intelligence to customize bonuses or wagers.

Did you really think they would care if it's an ad from a real person or some AI animation?
If so, they would be more concerned with those cars that always drive on empty streets with no engine sound and those detergents that miraculously wash everything.

There are lots of things they can notice such as.

1. player constantly making deposits.
2. betting pattern like player like looks like not sleeping anymore.
3. chasing losses (very familiar)
4. sudden increase of bets.

All these can be flag by an AI.

You don't need AI for these, those are simple functions that some websites have had for years.

Betfair has had a time counter for years: it gets triggered when you're active more than 8 hours a day on their website.
Deposits after large losses can easily be flagged with simple 2-line-of-code algorithms, again, some truly licensed and regulated websites do this.
The number of deposits can be restricted from the interface with a simple restriction on how many times you can charge, again , some sites offer you the posibility of putting a limit on your montly deposits and that limit even disabled by the player will still be in place 48 horus so if you experinced a rush you won't be able to bypass it.

You don't need AI for things that were available a decade before AI was even rumoured.