Many gamblers have always been weary of land-based casinos, where they may attribute a loss to a tilted roulette wheel or a poorly shuffled deck. But what about online casinos where a player’s identity is often hidden and software plays an important role? How can we control dishonest play and just how much of an influence can artificial intelligence really have?
There’s no denying that today’s reality is a computerized world and that we are surrounded by artificial intelligence in almost every area of our lives. Online casinos are no different, for better or for worse, and gambling robots seem to be here to stay.
Online Gambling’s Biggest Concern
The appearance of bots in the online gambling world is a cause for alarm. Bots use complex algorithms looking to exploit the mistakes of bookmakers and other human gamblers, like us.
Artificial Intelligence in Online Poker
Bots have been developed that are programmed to beat humankind at online poker, designed purely to take our money. Just do a quick google search for “pokerbot” and you’ll find countless sites offering these bots for a price as a way of helping you to cheat (something against the terms and conditions of all online poker sites!)
These bots aren’t necessarily new but until somewhat recently they were never very good. Artificial intelligence has come a long way, far enough that poker bots are good enough to win thousands and thousands of dollars on major online casino sites.
Many of these sites are doing their part to limit the proliferation of bots by finding them and shutting them down, but as technology advances the algorithms behind the bots is becoming increasingly better. Artificial intelligence could very well become a tangible threat to the online casino industry, one that will demand our attention.
Is artificial intelligence the end of online gaming?
Far from it. As bots become more widespread and smarter, so will the technology used to counter them. Gambling on a trusted online casino site with a good reputation is one way of guaranteeing that you’ll be playing a fair game (although the guarantee will never be 100%).
