Israeli AI Can Identify People With Gambling Addictions

Israeli startup Optimove has developed an AI that helps betting websites identify users with a potential gambling addiction. 

Its system identifies behavior patterns that are characteristic of gambling addicts, which include the hours of the day/night when they place bets, the amount of time they spend on the betting site, and the act of ‘chasing losses’, where gamblers deposit new money in an attempt to generate profits to cover the losses they have accumulated. 

It gives each user a rating according to the degree of risk. If the users are highly at-risk, the marketing messages that they receive on the betting sites will change, and instead of purely promotional messages, these gamblers will receive targeted messages encouraging them to take a break, reduce their bet, or get help. 

The system will also update the betting company so that they can give the user special attention, and determine whether intervention is necessary. 

The AI was trained through analysis and learning of historical information and data of gambling addictions. It is already being used by major gaming companies, including BetMGM, Penn National Gaming, and Rush Street Interactive.

“Human monitoring of gamblers’ conduct and identification of risk cases requires a lot of personnel and prolonged training and there is no practical way to do this,” says Jonathan Inbar, Director of Strategic Services at Optimove.

“In addition, people that monitor gamblers will suffer from human biases in their decisions. Some companies use old-fashioned methods such as self-assessment questionnaires, which no one can fill out objectively.

“The algorithm we developed collects data from many sources, including previous transactions, games that the bettor focuses on, analysis of interactions with customer service, and more. It is necessary to know the specific person, since the amount of bets that can be significant and fatal for one person, can be negligible for a gambler with means.”

Optimove, which was founded in 2009, has developed a platform that serves 500 companies in the fields of retail, sports, gaming, e-commerce, and more, creating targeted ads for hundreds of customer segments.

The Tel Aviv-based company has raised $95 million to date.