Artificial Intelligence to Help Online Poker and Gaming Reach $87 Billion Potential

February 25th, 2020 | by Greg Shaun

Online poker and gaming will benefit from the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) according to analysts at Mordor Intelligence LLP.

Analysts at Mordor Intelligence LLP believe that artificial intelligence will drive growth in online poker, betting and gaming. (Image: University of Surrey)

Assessing the industry’s potential industry over the next four years, analysts at the research agency believe technology will increase revenue.

According to the report, the industry’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will hit 8.77 percent by 2024. At that level, online gambling will be worth $87.75 billion.

AI Bots to Boost Online Poker and Gaming

The report itself covers all areas of the online industry, including poker, casino and sports betting. For the analysts, innovations involving artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are set to have the greatest impact on growth.

Within online poker, AI has already demonstrated its potential. Over the last five years, various AI poker bots have taken on and beaten professional players. The most recent, Pluribus, became the first bot to beat a multiplayer No Limit Hold’em game.

That breakthrough is the best indicator yet that AI has the processing power to solve highly complex situations. Indeed, unlike chess, No Limit Hold’em contains a number of unknown variables.

These unknowns make it significantly harder to calculate the optimal move in any given situation. However, Pluribus not only demonstrated that this is possible but that AI can adapt on the spot.

The strides AI has made at the top level will, eventually, trickle down to the industry at large. It’s this trickledown effect analysts at Mordor Intelligence believe will fuel growth in the coming years.

Positives Must Outweigh Negatives

What the report doesn’t take into account, however, is AI’s potential to damage the industry. In 2019, security experts at the Winning Poker Network (WPN), found that commercially available bots are now using AI.

Extensive investigations found that bots can process graphical data by reading pixels on a computer screen. This allows bots to make decisions virtually undetected.

WPN’s security team has since found a way to stop the bots. However, it’s widely accepted that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The natural counter to AI being used for illicit purposes is to use it for security. Therefore, the battle for operators is to ensure the positives outweigh the negatives.

Assuming they can do this, the latest data suggests that online betting and gaming will continue to grow at a healthy rate. If that happens, all verticals, including online poker, should see more activity and innovations over the next four years.