New York Moves to Restrict AI-Powered Gambling Promotions

[tiCeR]

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.  

Isn't this just a delayed realization of what has been at work all the time? Collect data, connect the dots. AI is now doing this at another level, but it has been happening all the time. You could probably argue what is AI, could it be prohibited, should it be prohibited? I think that makes no sense and whether a company, in this case a casino or whatever, is using AI models to squeeze information out of any data they collect, is probably hard to prove against them. I don't think this initiative will carry any fruit, it just can't. Restricting anything from being partially or fully driven by AI, it will become a question of those who are against it to have the tools to take those down who use it. No, technology developing at exponential pace works against this idea.

Disclaimer: this doesn't mean I like it.

[Fortify]

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.

Well this sort of algorithmic squeeze and trying to extract the most out of every player has been going on long before the latest "AI" hype started up. They might be able to get a bit more cash out of peoples pockets by trying to psycho-analyze playing habits or trying to profile people based on the little info they hand over during playing sessions but this seems like a gimmick kinda law really. Personalized offers have been around for decades already and generally relate to how much you spend at a casino rather than much else. Personally as a player I'd take more insult from the state or federal regulator asking casinos to use AI on me to define what I should be spending. The regulator should not be encouraging usage of AI to "identify problem gamblers" because it doesn't know peoples individual financial situation and it feels like overreach. You also don't need AI to set gambling limits in a reasonable way - you can keep it basic like not allowing more than $1000 on the first day, then only allowing gamblers to double up their deposit threshold every 24 hours after that and have it drop back down incrementally after long gaps in play. Such basic steps would really instill and force responsible gambling without requiring AI to evaluate people.

[mak013]

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.

Yep, that's true. But I see a difference. When I search for "hotel in Barcelona," I see ads for two or three days. When I search for "top online casino," I get ads for a month.
Personally, I need to see fewer gambling promotions. If it helps, I'll applaud it.
Maybe I'm not being fair, but I'm really tired of gambling promotions.

[Josefjix]

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.

There is nothing they can do about this, it's out of the control of the government to wanting to stop casino platform to not enable the use of AI to analyze the gambling behavior of a player, this had be done since before this news.

The behavioral studies of a gambler had been studied since Genesis, casino knows how gamblers behave, their desperation and eager moves to win bonuses also. These tracks had been studied for many years, not starting today.

What they can only do is to put a restrictive feature that can limit an addict from over betting, not stopping casinos from studying the behavior of an addict.