When the International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) holds a conference, you can be sure that the presentations will be cutting-edge, with a focus on technology. At the IGSA Future Tech conference last week in Maricopa, Ariz. at Harrah’s Ak-Chin, that certainly was the case.
And what is the most pressing technology not only for the gaming industry but for every business worldwide? Artificial intelligence, or AI.
Leading off the conference and setting the stage for every discussion going forward was gaming’s technology wizard, Andrew Cardno, the founder and CEO Game Changing Technologies and partner in Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI).
Cardo said that AI has accelerated the speed of change in the industry and has become the main force of change.
“AI used to only be able to mimic whatever humans tell it,” he explained. But with the advent of ChatGPT, “AI became smart. It is now able to do things humans can do and it’s used by almost every company now.”
He noted how the AI-related company Nvidia now has a market cap of $3 trillion and all public companies in the AI field are now worth more than $10 trillion, which demonstrates the importance of AI.
“AI is changing everything right now,” he said. “The world has never seen anything like this. So what does it mean to us?”
Cardno explained that AI is accelerating the growth in the gaming industry. Casinos are no longer just casinos, they are full-blown resorts. Sports betting has also been a big force of change.
“And then when you add online gaming to the mix,” he said, “the growth doesn’t seem great at first but then it shoots up. The combination of sports betting and online gaming represents $8 billion in North America alone.”
But more importantly than just gaming, AI is responsible for changes in the medical field that have increased life expectancy up by 2.5 to 4 years.
“That matters,” he said. “It’s an extension of wellness that may not stop because there’s a constant improvement in medicine.”
For individuals in the gaming industry, that can have a huge impact. Cardno pointed out that there is a labor shortage in gaming that will bring more changes.
“By 2030 more than 50 percent of jobs in gaming will be impacted,” he asserted.
Cardno pointed to the new Co-Pilot app developed by Microsoft and explained that soon workers will only become supervisors of their virtual beings that actually do the jobs that they once did.
“AI is becoming an integral part of the workforce,” he stated. ”AI works tirelessly. It is Spock-like in that it is emotionless and tireless in making decisions.”
While AI and robots can certainly replace line-level employees, Cardno said it goes much further than that.
“They work for us. But we also work for them as supervisors,” he explained. “AI can run your business and duplicate what executives and management do.”
AI will provide the gaming industry with dynamic pricing models, predictive models, and extensive revenue management. AI-driven decisions require instant analysis and strategic planning. Cardno said this isn’t just a glimpse into the future, “the technology is here today. It’s not in the future, it’s here now.”
And it’s up to stakeholders to either get on board or get run over, according to Cardno.
“The key is finding the right balance,” he said, to which he suggested several steps to implementation:
- • Hybrid approach
- • Phased implementation
- • Continuous monitoring
- • Employee involvement
- • Ethical framework
“Change is happening right now,” he said. “We’re in the midst of it. It’s the biggest tech race ever.”
He said the robots we’ve seen up until now have been very basic. Better versions will start turning up in the workforce.
“It’s the beginning of the age of robots,” he said. “They are becoming more like people with human-like features. They will become our AI teammates with specific roles and integration. Very soon, AI will become indistinguishable from humans. They will talk to customers, and deliver personalized communication.”
Cardno claimed that AI will improve workforce productivity by multiples of two times to five times immediately. But there’s no doubt that there are risks. Social engineering is one of the main challenges, he explained.
“We’ll need to increase our technical security by many times. We’ll need enormous computer power. We’ll require robust multi-authentication steps. We’ll have to monitor every decision.”
Responsible gaming can be an emphasis for AI to promote responsible behavior. Cardno said that gaming needs to embrace technology because it’s changing at a speed it’s never changed before.
Slot Sense
Following Cardno was Brett Butler, vice president of R&D and gaming systems for Aristocrat Technologies. He agreed that AI was changing his field.
“We’re using AI and hardware to push our technology limits,” he explained.
But advances in computer technology actually limits what slot makers can do, Butler added.
“We can’t use the most powerful processors because of the cost,” he said, “so we have to get very creative with cabinets, software, and the processors available to us. We’ve developed predictive codes that allow us to reuse legacy processors to take advantage of advances in programming.”
James O’Kimosh, the slot director for Arizona’s Desert Diamond Casinos, explained how more data is crucial to the success of his program.
“Operating a slot floor used to be half art and half science,” he said. “Good decisions can be made with the ability to have quick access to data.”
O’Kimosh said the Volante program has made all the difference in his casinos.
“By tracking information on setups, locations and results, we’re using this data to effectively place the machines. It also tells us how the guests play and how they’ll return.”
The Volante system also allows O’Kimosh to predict when machines need maintenance and what parts need to be on hand when replacement is needed.
“The data predicts which machines will fail, what parts need replacement, inventory, and also aids on our staffing requirements,” he said. “This amazing technology has made our job more efficient. It helps us optimize our time, and lets us focus on the big picture. We’re using our time and staff much more efficiently.”
Hacking Hell
A panel that included Jeremie Kanter, director of regulatory affairs for Continent 8 and Rich Rader, the chief technology officer for the Umpqua Indian Development Corp., pointed out the ongoing threat of hacking into casino systems.
They started by reviewing the serious hacking attacks suffered by MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment last year. These attacks were perpetrated by international hackers generally beyond the reach of law enforcement. Although they noted that one of the hackers was recently arrested in London.
They pointed out that hackers don’t always come from outside the organization. Attention should be paid to employees who have access to sensitive information that could either intentionally or accidentally expose it. Vendors to the casinos could also present a vulnerability when connected to the in-house systems.
To deter cyberattacks, four steps need to be taken, according to the panel:
- • Identify the threat: Internal or external?
- • Protect: DDOS, phishing or others
- • Detect: 24/7 monitoring, vulnerability and penetration testing
- • Respond and Recover: Incident response testing, forensic and remediation services
Other presentations at the IGSA show included presentations from INTEL, Land Vegas and World Vegas on AI summarized video, XR in land-based and online gaming and a metaverse casino environment.
Mark Pace, the president of IGSA, believes the conference was a resounding success.
“I am very grateful for the speakers and attendees who participated in the IGSATechnical Summit,” he said. “Entrepreneurs, innovators, operators, regulators, suppliers, technologists, and testing labs all came together to talk emerging and future tech in our industry and to identify adoption obstacles and how we can overcome them. It was a great two-day event and the feedback that we received support that. We’re now starting planning for 2025, around the same time-frame and looking forward to finalizing the location, venue and most importantly, what the industry wishes to discuss!”
