The AI Advantage

Since working with Betika across multiple African markets, I’ve seen first-hand how artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to reshape the compliance landscape. What once felt like a futuristic concept is now quietly influencing how operators manage risk, protect players, and interact with regulators.Africa’s iGaming sector is incredibly dynamic, fast-growing, competitive, and often fragmented by different market regulations. For compliance teams, that means balancing agility with accountability. AI offers a way to make that balance possible. It enables us to move from reactive checks to predictive insights, allowing potential issues to be identified before they escalate into breaches.At Betika, we’ve continuously seen the value of behavioural analytics in supporting player monitoring. AI can detect patterns that indicate possible problem gambling or fraudulent activity, prompting timely interventions that protect both players and the business. Developing AI-powered tools will enhance transaction monitoring, learning what “normal” looks like and flagging anomalies quicker and more accurately than traditional manual methods.Of course, adopting AI also raises new questions. Many African regulators are still developing frameworks for emerging technologies, and there’s a growing need for transparency around how AI models make decisions. As compliance professionals, we must ensure these tools remain auditable, fair, and subject to human oversight. The goal isn’t to replace judgment, it’s to strengthen and enhance it.Looking ahead to 2026, I believe the real differentiator for operators like Betika won’t just be whether they use AI, but how responsibly and effectively they do so. Those that embed AI within a strong compliance culture will not only meet regulatory expectations but help set new standards for integrity and trust across Africa.Used thoughtfully, AI can help the iGaming sector in Africa evolve into one that is not only innovative and fast-growing, but also transparent, responsible, and genuinely player-centric.

2026 will be the year when AI becomes a regulatory challenge, after the last 18 months have seen governments move from principles to enforcement. For instance, the EU AI Act — the world’s first comprehensive AI law, which will be fully applicable on August 2, 2026 — introduces a framework where “high-risk” systems face documentation, human oversight, and traceability obligations to mitigate harm and ensure accountability. This means training a model on the scale of GPT-4o now places a company within a compliance regime as demanding as the General Data Protection Regulation.Beyond Europe, lawmakers are also taking action. South Korea’s AI Basic Act, coming into force in 2026, introduces a “trust-by-design” certification, while in the U.S., state-level AI bills are emerging in states such as Colorado, Texas, and California, each defining developer duties and consumer-disclosure rights. Meanwhile, China has tightened real-time content and watermarking rules for generative models. For any company deploying AI across different jurisdictions, including those in the iGaming industry, compliance is becoming a geographical challenge, not just a technical one.The ethical dimension of AI is no longer theoretical, since regulators now expect decision traceability: the ability to show how an algorithm reached an outcome. In the iGaming industry, for instance, an AI-driven risk-management system that flags a user for exclusion must produce a verifiable audit trail: data input, model version, rationale, and human-review logs. Bias in automated systems is also moving from an ethical concern to a compliance issue. Under emerging fairness regulations, even unintentional patterns in AI-driven bonus allocation or player segmentation could be seen as discriminatory.Another emerging concern is liability. The EU had proposed an AI Liability Directive to extend civil liability to harms caused by autonomous systems, but the initiative was withdrawn in 2025 after lawmakers failed to reach agreement. Its withdrawal leaves a gap: companies remain responsible for proving that their AI systems act fairly and transparently, yet there is still no unified EU framework defining how liability should be shared between developers and deployers. For sectors like sports betting, this means legal responsibility for AI-driven decisions — from player-risk models to automated content — continues to rest on national laws and regulator interpretation.At the same time, open-source AI — designed to democratize innovation — could become the next compliance blind spot. Under the EU’s General-Purpose AI Code of Practice,providers of general-purpose models are expected to document data provenance and embed risk-management processes. iGaming companies that fine-tune such models without proper governance will find that “open” no longer means “exempt.” While the Code is voluntary, overlooking these practices could significantly increase compliance risk andnegatively impact companies.Looking ahead, three trends stand out for 2026:● Mandatory incident reporting. Under the EU AI Act, providers of high-risk systemswill be required to report serious AI incidents to national authorities, much likedata-breach notifications● AI certification. “Safe-AI” seals and independent audits will emerge● Ethics as differentiation. Firms that embed transparency and accountability earlywill find compliance becomes a trust advantage.The coming year will test whether companies truly understand that ethics, regulations, and performance are now intertwined. In AI, responsibility will become the new innovation frontier for those who want to lead the iGaming market.

Artificial Intelligence: The New Engine of Integrity As betting markets and sports become more data-driven, AI is evolving from a supportive tool into the backbone of gambling compliance and sports integrity in 2026. Operators, providers, and integrity partners are already using machine learning to ingest huge volumes of account-level wagers, odds feeds, and event telemetry, and that scale matters: industry programmes are now confirming hundreds of suspicious matches annually by combining operator data with automated anomaly detection.Over the next 12–18 months, three connected shifts are taking shape. First, detection is becoming more proactive and context-aware. Advances in supervised and ensemble models allow systems to flag complex, multi-channel betting patterns, such as correlated micro-wagers across linked accounts, improving true-positive rates while reducing the human review burden. Second, regulators are demanding demonstrable AI governance. Authorities are focusing on explainability, control frameworks, and audit trails for automated AML, KYC, and risk-scoring systems. Third, data-sharing and cross-industry integration are expanding. Leagues and federations are now testing centralized monitoring hubs that scan betting flows in near-real time through third-party AI services.In parallel, athlete education is emerging as an equally vital safeguard. Match-fixing and corruption often begin with direct approaches to athletes, coaches, or staff. Education programmes, such as PROtect Integrity Online and the International Betting Integrity Association’s athlete-training initiatives, have shown that structured learning measurably reduces the risk of manipulation attempts. By equipping athletes to recognise suspicious behaviour, understand reporting channels, and resist coercion, these programmes build a human firewall that complements technological oversight.BETER is also contributing to this direction through both technology and education. In 2025, we launched INTEGRITY+, a comprehensive digital platform offering AI-powered tools, educational resources, and secure reporting functions designed to support athletes participating in official tournaments exclusively distributed by BETER and to safeguard sports integrity. It provides accessible, proactive integrity management across all devices. Built around the real needs of modern sports professionals, it empowers clean competition and proactive risk management by combining awareness, learning, reporting, and AI. Building on this, BETER is developing Recruiter-in-the-Loop, an AI-driven simulation that reproduces real-world recruiter tactics in a safe environment. The system helps athletes and staff recognise and resist manipulation attempts, providing experience-based training that strengthens resilience and preparedness.For compliance and integrity teams alike, AI will no longer be optional. The future belongs to systems and people who are capable of learning, adapting, and upholding the principles of transparency and fair play.

AI in compliance: A strategic enabler for iGaming in 2026At Continent 8 Technologies, we see artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative force in gaming compliance if deployed thoughtfully and responsibly. As regulatory demands intensify and data volumes grow, agentic AI offers powerful capabilities to automate monitoring, detect risk, and streamline reporting. But its role is not to replace human judgment – it is to enhance it.AI can support real-time compliance decisions, such as flagging suspicious transactions or identifying potentially at-risk players. However, trust in these systems must be earned through rigorous oversight. AI is only as effective as the data it’s trained on, and compliance decisions often involve complex human nuances that technology alone cannot interpret.That’s why we advocate for AI as an enhancement tool - capable of identifying issues quickly, but always subject to human verification. Without this balance, there’s a risk of frustrating legitimate players while bad actors exploit system blind spots.From an operational perspective, AI has the potential to reduce long-term costs by automating time-consuming tasks like data collection and analysis. This allowscompliance teams to focus on higher-value activities. However, the journey to cost efficiency requires upfront investment in infrastructure, training, and governance.Training and change management are often overlooked. Effective AI adoption requires a structured training program. Teams must understand not just how to use AI tools, but why they matter, what risks they mitigate, and how to interpret their outputs responsibly. When employees feel empowered and informed, they are more likely to embrace AI as a tool that enhances their role – not threatens it.We also believe collaboration is key. The iGaming industry already works together on fraud prevention and responsible gambling initiatives, and AI compliance should be no different. Shared tools for detecting suspicious behaviour, enforcing self-exclusion, and preventing fraud would strengthen the ecosystem and reduce inconsistencies. In 2026, the most resilient operators will be those who embed AI into their compliance strategy with transparency, accountability, and a clear understanding of its limitations.

Like other industries, the gambling sector is grappling with fundamental questions about AI implementation: when, where, and how to deploy these technologies; howto balance investment with human capital; and how to improve operational efficiency while preserving organisational culture. For gambling operators, these considerations are particularly complex given the need for regulatory compliance within a rapidly evolving international landscape. Mistakes in this industry (whether technological or human) can be costly.As artificial intelligence transitions from industry hype to practical implementation, gambling operators face a critical period in navigating the compliance implications ofAI-driven systems. With regulators intensifying scrutiny over player protection and safer gambling measures, AI presents both a powerful compliance tool and acomplex regulatory challenge.Key Compliance ThemesPerhaps the most compelling application for AI in the gambling sector lies in enhancing safer gambling systems. AI models can analyse player behaviour,spending patterns, and communications to identify vulnerability markers and potential harm indicators. Advanced AI-driven customer support systems can detectsubtle linguistic changes that may signal problem gambling, enabling real-time intervention opportunities. Given operators' increasing regulatory scrutiny in this areaand the challenge of non-harmonized requirements across jurisdictions, such capabilities will be welcomed by many operators.Beyond compliance applications, from a revenue-generating perspective, AI can drive greater personalisation (a key theme across B2C industries). By analysingplayer behaviour, preferences, and betting patterns, AI can provide customised recommendations, bonuses, and game suggestions. However, operators mustcarefully balance these use cases to ensure that enhanced personalisation does not venture into potentially harmful territory.Critical Implementation ConsiderationsWhile the potential benefits of AI-driven systems are clear, operators must remain mindful of system limitations and potential compliance consequences. Implementing AI systems requires a considered, proportionate approach that ensures personnel are both empowered and clear on system boundaries. Organisations should establish robust governance frameworks addressing: data provenance and training datasets (including personal and third-party data), use of confidential or sensitive information, intellectual property ownership, staff training requirements, and limitations of use. 2026 PredictionsAI system adoption will likely continue growing across both generic back-office operations and gambling-specific activities. However, greater tension may arise between revenue-generating use cases (such as hyper-personalisation and marketing) and regulatory compliance requirements. While regulators have not yet extensively addressed AI use by operators (and in my view and this is unlikely to change significantly through 2026), as regulators begin to fully understand the sophistication of available tools, expectations regarding operators’ safer gambling monitoring and intervention programs will only intensify. Operators must be prepared to keep pace with these evolving standards.