UNLV International Gaming Institute Launches Second State of AI in Gaming Survey

Researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas International Gaming Institute have launched the second annual survey on artificial intelligence adoption in the gaming industry. The initiative will inform the State of AI in Gaming 2027 report and includes parallel surveys for industry participants and global regulators. Organizers aim to address slow uptake driven by legacy systems and cultural reliance on third-party technology providers.

Updated Report Structure and Sports Betting Focus

The 2027 edition will benchmark against the prior year and rotate its fourth section, which examined Responsible AI in the 2026 report. This year the section maps the sports betting value chain from leagues and data collection to providers, bookmakers, and customers. Interviews will pinpoint where AI delivers current impact and where it may expand.

Melissa Swinehart, a PhD student in computer science and researcher at the UNLV International Gaming Institute, is assessing organizational AI utilization, including new measurements of budgets and token management costs. “When you’re adopting AI, you have to have the infrastructure for that, to be able to accommodate compute time or compute resources and that takes a lot of investing into,” said Swinehart. Kasra Ghaharian, IGI’s director of research, cited infrastructure demands as a core obstacle. Ghaharian added that land-based casinos, hotels, and restaurants rely on systems “built decades ago” that prove difficult to integrate.

He contrasted gaming with financial services, which spends billions on AI, employs hundreds of specialists, and builds technology in-house to gain competitive advantage from its data. “I don’t want to sound harsh, but we seldom hear about gambling companies creating a technology from scratch,” Ghaharian said. “I feel like there is this culture of third-party providers providing the tech, providing the expertise, and it’s not getting built in-house.”

Survey Timing, Targets, and Participation Incentives

Recruitment timing is challenging to capture full-year perspectives. The industry survey will deploy in early December, allowing one or two months for completion before the April publication deadline. Last year 83 companies participated in the industry survey; the target is at least 100 this year. Each receives a private benchmark report against the broader industry and its competitive set.

The regulator survey previously drew 113 responses via open LinkedIn outreach. This edition adopts a one-response-per-organization model with targeted invitations for more robust, representative insights. Ghaharian noted the surveys are being finalized now.

Reporting: CDC Gaming

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