New York Moves to Restrict AI-Powered Gambling Promotions

[Maslate]

I’m surprised people actually believe casino creators have the power to regulate gambling activity either in an abusive form or gambling moderately.

you are surprise because you don't believe it's possible.

The use of AI can be used in a helpful manner although regulating addiction is not part of the plan meaning AI cannot achieve this goal, I understand AI can be used as a support system in tracking every data while this is possible it depends whether the gambling site will control gambling activity totally. Definitely we all know the first aim of every gambling platform is to keep gamblers glued to the site, AI is very helpful reason why the New York State gaming commission wants to help gamblers with addiction problem by offering less when a gambler is already losing much.

I guess you need to study more to understand the capabilities of AI. Probably you're just stuck somewhere in the middle (no offense).
AI has now evolved greatly, and it's even set to replace people who do some repetitive tasks, so it could also analyze what the system sees and since gamblers use the casino's own system when they place bets, it would be easy for AI to analyze their betting behavior.

If we're still at the stage where we believe AI can only be used for writing, then we're already outdated.

[sebiesz]

interesting move if new york follows through. ai-powered gambling promos could get more scrutiny, especially around targeting and responsible gambling.

[swogerino]

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.

I strongly agree with that, first of all they need a gambling commission to make things fair to both parties and if they have one then this commission needs to do more as I have not seen a single achievement from this like the UK one which has made the wagering requirements for bonuses maximum of 10x and no more. AI is new in this industry and stopping it will not stop a lot of companies to do this work for gambling companies, they should stop it completely and not only AI if they are serious.

[Antotena]

This is an interesting proposal and, if implemented, could be useful in combating gambling addiction. It will be necessary to establish what the signs of addiction will be that will trigger the "detection" so that the AI ​​can then decide what to block or not. I still think that a good portion of the revenue will be lost to false positives. We have gamblers who bet large sums and gamble daily, but who are not necessarily addicted.

I'm interested in this development but we are going to be solving a problem and neglecting another problem. Who handles how AI data are gong to be used in this situations. We want AI to be used to study people, that's users information gambling casino are going to be handling and with the way KYC are been abused by gambling casino, I don't think this will be handle well, instead of this to solve gambling addiction, some companies are going to use this for business purposes.

Let's first have a way to handle this AI tracking of users behavior and how data are going to be save. What if casino that are not licensed and regulated want to do the same, who is going to bear the cost of data usage if they decided to become part of AI users.
My second concern is how much is going to spend on this, I learnt AI models for public use are not cheap, companies spent money to make them work, is this going to be cheap ones or there is going to be a service providers. So many uncertainties I'm concerned about this move.

[bakasabo]

I only dont get one thing, if NY restrict AI use for targeted gambling promotions, because casinos will know gamblers weak points and hit into them, then why use of AI or simply targeted promotions are allowed? Almost everything now collect users data and behavior to provide content, goods and services user might need. So it is restricted to provide me baseball betting promotions if I love baseball and bet on it, but it is allowed to offer me discounts and offers of baseball merch and tickets, if I showed a small interest to spending money on them while surfing online. Gambling industry is restricted to earn more, but corporations are allowed. Does not look fair.

[Wiwo]

When the discussion is about consumer protection in the gambling sectors and in this regard is about how AI collect and use players data, it must be seen as a welcome development, and now that we know that the New York regulations is not out to banned AI outrightly this can be seen as a welcome development.

Most countries with unregulated gambling law's have their citizens being the most targeted for this kind of AI powered gambling promotions that target the most vulnerable in the society.

[mak013]

I only dont get one thing, if NY restrict AI use for targeted gambling promotions, because casinos will know gamblers weak points and hit into them, then why use of AI or simply targeted promotions are allowed? Almost everything now collect users data and behavior to provide content, goods and services user might need. So it is restricted to provide me baseball betting promotions if I love baseball and bet on it, but it is allowed to offer me discounts and offers of baseball merch and tickets, if I showed a small interest to spending money on them while surfing online. Gambling industry is restricted to earn more, but corporations are allowed. Does not look fair.

When you buy baseball merch, you can resell it later Even when you buy a ticket, you get something of value, if you can call it that. When you gamble, you just lose money and get nothing in return. I think that could be an idea worth considering.Or maybe there are just too many gambling promotions. If they were AI-targeted, I'd see only them.
As I said, for me it's a good idea if it helps cut down on gambling promotions. I'm really tired of them.

[Pandu Geddon]

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.

Any regulations to protect players from gambling addiction would be good. It shows government involvement in managing and limiting businesses that are thriving in their area. Without using AI, casinos should be able to see their players' habits and they have all the data. So it's not difficult to make specific offers to players. However, they also have to know their limits in not continuously offering promotions to gamblers who are clearly already addicted. But anyway, they are in business and want to make a profit.

[YOSHIE]

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

If the draft AI restriction rules were designed by the New York state gambling commission, the aim is to protect against those vulnerable to gambling addiction. In my opinion, these new rules are good and will have a positive impact on those who are addicted to gambling.

But I see in the source that OP presented, again the final point is referred to the tightening regulation of gambling licenses in New York, but that's not a bad thing, maybe it's important for the state government in New York.
In essence, this regulation is aimed at prohibiting AI-based personalization, for this reason the New York State Gambling Commission provided public input for 60 days before the regulation was released, In my opinion the gamblers in the state of New York, need to provide their best suggestions on the main policy of AI restrictions, if these points will indeed have a positive impact on the general public I think the proposed rules are complete.

[sompitonov]

Any regulations to protect players from gambling addiction would be good. It shows government involvement in managing and limiting businesses that are thriving in their area. Without using AI, casinos should be able to see their players' habits and they have all the data. So it's not difficult to make specific offers to players. However, they also have to know their limits in not continuously offering promotions to gamblers who are clearly already addicted. But anyway, they are in business and want to make a profit.

In today’s capitalist landscape, any business naturally aims to maximize profits by cutting costs and squeezing the utmost productivity out of its workforce however, in this industry, it is the players who generate the revenue. Consequently, gambling business owners constantly brainstorm ways to make their games more compelling, encouraging players to spend ever-increasing amounts in shorter periods. Attracting new players is equally crucial, so operators inevitably leverage every available tool including statistics, databases, AI, and data analysts to remain competitive against other casinos.

[Ever-young]

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. 

I don’t even know why I feel like this is another medium to make more money but I just can’t prove it. This feels like another means of advertisement i.e presenting it in a way that will seem right to public and in turn, adopting the masses to the medium.
Because I don’t know why a company will for the benefit of the masses, decide to drastically cut down their profits, unless they are being forced by the regulators.

But anyways, if this adaptation be true, which doesn’t feel like it, it wouldn’t be bad, because the rate of addiction nationwide is massive, so if there be a means to reduce it I believe it will be helpful.
But this coming from a gambling company? They can’t be that generous.

[Hispo]

... But anyway, they are in business and want to make a profit.

Well, it is still possible for them to make profit and not be predatory with AI assisted advertising.
Just think about it, online gambling is possibly the fastest growing industry on the internet, even faster then internet retailer stores like Amazon back in the day, and they have managed to do all of it without having to opt to use Artificial intelligences or machine learning.

Even if AI was completely forbidden from being used in favor of casinos and their advertisement, this business will certainly continue to grow very fast through these coming years, all of it because of the feeling of FOMO and greed which all gamblers have in common, some more than others.

[ArabBTC]

I doubt that it will even be possible for AI to detect unusual gambling habits, AI is programmed, hence, they will need to program it with different normal and abnormal gambling behaviors for it to be functional and that could be very difficult because gamblers don’t mostly follow any particular pattern, different bettors have their own ideologies as regards gambling and they also have their prediction style and market choice.

On the other hand, which casino will want to encourage a program that will minimize his profit margin? If AI restricts certain gambling behaviors it will have a ripple effect on the overall profit of casinos, so definitely this might not work.

Gambling has been in existence from time immemorial, every previous policies to curtail its spread has only made it stronger, so am not worried about this one either, what government should just do is to keep on promoting adverts to advise on the risk of excessive gambling.

[Awaklara]

On the other hand, which casino will want to encourage a program that will minimize his profit margin? If AI restricts certain gambling behaviors it will have a ripple effect on the overall profit of casinos, so definitely this might not work.

It shouldn't be AI that is used to limit gambling behavior, but rather to analyze gamblers' behavior from gambling activities that have already taken place in certain casinos. Just to map out gamblers who gamble normally, and gamblers who have excessive gambling activities or who take too great risks. In fact, if this is not regulated by the government, there is a concern that casinos could create special promotions targeting high-risk gamblers. That is the concern.

[bakasabo]

I only dont get one thing, if NY restrict AI use for targeted gambling promotions, because casinos will know gamblers weak points and hit into them, then why use of AI or simply targeted promotions are allowed? Almost everything now collect users data and behavior to provide content, goods and services user might need. So it is restricted to provide me baseball betting promotions if I love baseball and bet on it, but it is allowed to offer me discounts and offers of baseball merch and tickets, if I showed a small interest to spending money on them while surfing online. Gambling industry is restricted to earn more, but corporations are allowed. Does not look fair.

When you buy baseball merch, you can resell it later Even when you buy a ticket, you get something of value, if you can call it that. When you gamble, you just lose money and get nothing in return. I think that could be an idea worth considering.Or maybe there are just too many gambling promotions. If they were AI-targeted, I'd see only them.
As I said, for me it's a good idea if it helps cut down on gambling promotions. I'm really tired of them.

It is enough for me to once type in search "hotel in Barcelona" and the next I go the internet I start getting travelling, hotel banners, link with what to do in Spain. I get it no only in web browsers, but also in social media (such as facebook or youtube). If same thing does gambling promotions do in NY or elsewhere, then why gambling should be restricted but ads that flood my internet experience should not. As both try to make me spend money.

[angrybirdy]

Any regulations to protect players from gambling addiction would be good. It shows government involvement in managing and limiting businesses that are thriving in their area. Without using AI, casinos should be able to see their players' habits and they have all the data. So it's not difficult to make specific offers to players. However, they also have to know their limits in not continuously offering promotions to gamblers who are clearly already addicted. But anyway, they are in business and want to make a profit.

In today’s capitalist landscape, any business naturally aims to maximize profits by cutting costs and squeezing the utmost productivity out of its workforce however, in this industry, it is the players who generate the revenue. Consequently, gambling business owners constantly brainstorm ways to make their games more compelling, encouraging players to spend ever-increasing amounts in shorter periods. Attracting new players is equally crucial, so operators inevitably leverage every available tool including statistics, databases, AI, and data analysts to remain competitive against other casinos.

Anyway, when speaking about gambling business, everyone understands that it is a rather competitive sector and casinos develop different strategies to increase their profitability and draw more customers to use their products. As gamblers are the main source of revenue of the casinos, they offer entertaining games and various promotions in order to motivate the gambler to play on and pay for the services of the casino. Besides, the casinos use artificial intelligence, statistic, databases and data analytics in order to analyze the behavior of the player and attract new customers. Even though these practices help the casinos to improve their services and compete with others, they might cause some ethical issues concerning responsible gambling.

[Africolo]

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.

It's good to see the new York state gaming commission to restrict AI in other to protect the players which is why they are there and they have done the right thing and hopefully we expect that the law should be implemented as casino owners would take advantage of it against the players.

Al is good when it's been used to analyze gambling and not to be used to limit gambling behaviors, this is a programmed device which can't detect excessive gambling and other abnormalities that take place in gambling so it's not really needed when we still have the sports books which is to protect players. I understand that we are in a technology world and they can use AI to program even the abnormalities in gambling but what if other targets changes?, because different gamblers has their own way they  bet and different strategies they use to analyze and gamble so it's a good one from the New York state gaming commission to regulate it, even though it hasn't been approved and pass to law, this will keep the game in shape and in favor of the bettors too

[Pandu Geddon]

... But anyway, they are in business and want to make a profit.

Well, it is still possible for them to make profit and not be predatory with AI assisted advertising.
Just think about it, online gambling is possibly the fastest growing industry on the internet, even faster then internet retailer stores like Amazon back in the day, and they have managed to do all of it without having to opt to use Artificial intelligences or machine learning.

Even if AI was completely forbidden from being used in favor of casinos and their advertisement, this business will certainly continue to grow very fast through these coming years, all of it because of the feeling of FOMO and greed which all gamblers have in common, some more than others.

We know that the gambling business is indeed very profitable and it attracts many entrepreneurs to invest in or run their gambling businesses. But they are in a situation where technological developments always force them to keep up with changes. AI can help them in processing data to create promotions or certain bonuses targeted at the classification of each customer. Even though we know, without doing these things, the gambling industry still has a very large market.

[hedgeh0g]

Any regulations to protect players from gambling addiction would be good. It shows government involvement in managing and limiting businesses that are thriving in their area. Without using AI, casinos should be able to see their players' habits and they have all the data. So it's not difficult to make specific offers to players. However, they also have to know their limits in not continuously offering promotions to gamblers who are clearly already addicted. But anyway, they are in business and want to make a profit.

In today’s capitalist landscape, any business naturally aims to maximize profits by cutting costs and squeezing the utmost productivity out of its workforce however, in this industry, it is the players who generate the revenue. Consequently, gambling business owners constantly brainstorm ways to make their games more compelling, encouraging players to spend ever-increasing amounts in shorter periods. Attracting new players is equally crucial, so operators inevitably leverage every available tool including statistics, databases, AI, and data analysts to remain competitive against other casinos.

Anyway, when speaking about gambling business, everyone understands that it is a rather competitive sector and casinos develop different strategies to increase their profitability and draw more customers to use their products. As gamblers are the main source of revenue of the casinos, they offer entertaining games and various promotions in order to motivate the gambler to play on and pay for the services of the casino. Besides, the casinos use artificial intelligence, statistic, databases and data analytics in order to analyze the behavior of the player and attract new customers. Even though these practices help the casinos to improve their services and compete with others, they might cause some ethical issues concerning responsible gambling.

While the use of AI in gambling advertisements is likely not yet prohibited in most places, New York has become the first to take such a step. I believe this trend will continue, and other countries and cities may follow suit. From my perspective as a player, the main thing is that these ads shouldn't be annoying, and there shouldn't be an excessive number of them throughout the city. I don’t mind advertising in general, but I do object when it’s everywhere to the point where it’s all I can see. Furthermore, while AI is capable of coming up with brilliant advertising concepts, those same ads could also prove to be incredibly irritating.