How has AI influenced the sports betting industry?
You can’t deny the influence that artificial intelligence is having on our everyday lives. Whenever I want to complete a Google search, an AI result appears. Even as I write this, it tries to predict my next word. The sports betting industry certainly hasn’t escaped the clutches of the robotic hand of AI. From odds to customer service, it’s already changing how the industry works.
On top of that, there are plenty of potential uses for AI, including improving safety, promoting responsible gambling and spotting fraud. The enthusiasm about its potential use is balanced out, and sometimes drowned out, by valid concerns over its security and impact on already vulnerable players.
AI helping to determine your best bet
The introduction of AI to assist in determining odds and betting tips has probably been one of the industry’s biggest changes. Rather than having humans spend hours poring over all the statistics associated with a sport like horse racing or the MLB, AI algorithms help to set more accurate odds.
Before the introduction of AI technology, horse racing odds used formulas which accounted for factors such as conditions, terrain, weighting, jockeys, course and form. It was a complex balance to correctly weight the numerous factors and provide accurate odds.
For the MLB there are even more stats to consider, such as earned run average, and walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP) for each of the pitchers. A glance at the different stats defined on the MLB website provides some insight into how difficult and tedious a task determining odds can be¹!
How AI has changed odds
Nowadays, AI can be used to automatically do all the calculations and as it can consider more data, it can produce more accurate results. AI can consider factors humans might have missed to give a more accurate prediction², such as fan sentiment, weather conditions and injuries.
Of course, using AI is also much more efficient than bookies individually calculating odds, which also allows them to use that saved time to offer more sporting events. In addition, AI can operate around the clock to provide odds for even more international sports.
Automating customer service
It is important in the sports betting industry that players can get efficient support. AI has helped to make this possible by automating customer service. Now, if you have a query when at a betting site, it’s more than likely that it will be answered by an AI chatbot.
These chatbots can return instant responses by scouring internal databases and the internet for the correct answer. It’s not uncommon to encounter issues with chatbots though as some fail to recognize queries if they’re not worded in a specific way³. That’s why human representatives remain important in the sports betting industry to answer the more complex queries that an AI chatbot would struggle to respond to.
Could AI mean safer, more secure betting?
One of the most exciting prospective uses for AI is to help keep those betting on sports safe. Although providers offer tools such as limits, breaks and self-exclusion, some bettors can still develop a problematic relationship with gambling that can result in harmful behaviors such as overspending and chasing losses. There are so many users for sports betting providers to keep track of that you can appreciate how difficult it is to identify individual problems, especially prior to harm being caused.
There’s hope among many in the industry that AI will change that. Once again, its ability to analyze vast amounts of data quickly is a strong advantage as it’s able to spot harmful patterns while they’re still developing. It can identify concerning patterns such as dramatic spikes in wagers or nighttime betting. The idea is that AI can identify these signs at an earlier stage, with a focus on preventative measures rather than just reactive⁴.
Mindway AI putting minds at ease
In May 2025, AI software company Mindway AI and BetComply announced a partnership aimed at developing safer gambling technology⁵. The first product they’re working together to develop is GameScanner, which is a tool intended to allow providers to identify harmful gambling patterns at an earlier stage. It uses AI to spot harmful behaviors, then suggests relevant tools such as limits and breaks for support.
Mindway AI’s systems already monitor 9.2 million players across 14 languages every month! One of the main focuses of the partnership is to increase this number and incorporate the use of Mindway’s tools at more gambling platforms.
Preventing high levels of fraud
The sports betting industry faces rising levels of fraud, with the sector losing out on around 15% of its annual revenue according to industry news⁶. Bonus abuse is the most common form of fraud in the industry, which involves players creating multiple accounts to claim the same bonus more than once or even using their own accounts to claim referral bonuses.
Although there are processes in place to prevent fraud, such as know your customer, which requires players to upload personal information and proof of identification, they’re evidently not strong enough. AI is already being used by some providers to spot suspicious patterns much faster than a human can. It identifies things like multiple accounts sharing the same IP address or personal details, and accounts that stay active around the clock. It’s also being used to flag strange bets on niche leagues that users haven’t shown interest in before, which could be an indication of match fixing.
What concerns are there about AI in sports betting?
As with pretty much everything involving AI, its introduction into the sports betting industry isn’t without controversy. Its involvement in aiding responsible gambling has been met by some quite vocal concerns over autonomy and personal freedom. For the algorithm to detect players at risk, it must analyze their behavior, including their spending patterns. To flag potential fraud cases, it looks at sensitive account details. This has sparked concerns over the safety and security of player information.
Worries about targeted marketing
The most prominent concern about AI’s involvement in sports betting involves targeted marketing. Currently it’s being used by providers to determine player preferences and then recommend sports and offers based on this information. Worries stem from how this targeted marketing will affect players who are at high risk of developing gambling problems, as it could exacerbate financial harm.
There have been cases of AI triggering a limited-time bonus for bettors who are on a losing streak — a worrying pattern that could lead to overspending and chasing losses. There has also been concerns from charities such as Gambling with Lives that AI use in promoting responsible gambling might not be as beneficial as it seems. Although algorithms can flag at-risk players, the process still relies on providers acting on that information and the tools they recommend don’t differ from those involved in other less-invasive methods⁷.
What impact has AI had on sports betting?
AI has had a sizable impact across numerous areas of sports betting, ranging from customer service and odds to preventing fraud and promoting responsible gambling. It’s completely changed the ways odds are calculated as algorithms are able to take more factors into account and adjust odds more accurately.
You’ll likely have also noticed that AI is being used for customer service. In the future, its uses could extend to improving responsible gambling and preventing fraud. AI’s introduction in the industry doesn’t come without concerns, such as security of information and how targeted ads could impact vulnerable players. Despite this, it’s likely that we’ll see AI extending its influence in the sports betting industry in the near future!
¹ Glossary, Written by the MLB, Published by the MLB.
⁶ How iGaming Can Beat Bonus Abuse Cheats, Written by Amy Watkins, Published by GBG.
⁷ Concern as the Gambling Industry Embraces AI, Written by Nicola K Smith, Published by BBC News.
