{"id":51642,"date":"2025-10-02T16:58:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/51642\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T16:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:58:07","slug":"unlvs-air-hub-weighs-risks-and-rewards-of-ai-in-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/51642\/","title":{"rendered":"UNLV\u2019s AiR Hub Weighs Risks and Rewards of AI in Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas, once solely known for casino floors that feature wall-to-wall table games and slot machines, has upped the ante by expanding into online platforms that can be accessed from anywhere via PCs, laptops, and mobile devices. For more than 30 years, UNLV\u2019s International Gaming Institute<\/a> (IGI) has been following these trends, analyzing gaming issues, and building a reputation for research that is acknowledged worldwide as being both trustworthy and academically rigorous.<\/p>\n

AI is a topic that \u2014 although not new \u2014 has become a focal point as more companies adopt and integrate AI into their technology. Heated conversations around ChatGPT, especially in academia, have highlighted the public\u2019s mixed reaction to AI and how it\u2019s used. In a similar vein, the gaming industry\u2019s adoption of AI has stirred conversations among stakeholders on how AI is used, should be used, and how it can be regulated to meet industry-standard ethical guidelines. To provide those answers, IGI launched AI Research Hub<\/a> (AiR Hub) in May 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kasra Ghaharian, IGI’s director of research, AiR Hub co-founder, and UNLV alumnus (Josh Hawkins\/UNLV)<\/p>\n

AiR Hub was co-founded by IGI\u2019s Director of Research Kasra Ghaharian<\/a> and adjunct fellow Simo Dragicevic<\/a>, an industry veteran with over 25 years\u2019 experience in business, technology, and research and development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is giving the gaming industry a chance to rethink everything \u2014 from innovation and customer experience to responsible play,\u201d says Ghaharian, a triple alumnus (\u201907 BS, \u201910 MS, and \u201922 Ph.D. Hotel Administration) who started at IGI as a research assistant while earning his doctorate from the Harrah College of Hospitality.<\/p>\n

The hub, drawing inspiration from the startup model, is still accepting founding members \u2014 representatives from Action Gaming, Axes.ai, Evoke Plc, Gaming Analytics, Kindbridge Behavioral Health, Playtech Plc, Responsible Online Gaming Association, Walker Digital Table Systems, and Aristocrat have already signed on. But instead of letting the chips fall where they may by waiting to get their feet wet, AiR Hub is already going all in \u2014 taking on the ambitious task of an industry-wide analysis of AI usage.<\/p>\n

Simo Dragicevic, AiR Hub co-founder, UNLV adjunct fellow, and gaming industry expert<\/p>\n

When completed next spring, the State of AI in Gaming report is set for a wide public release. That will include a presentation with global experts in gambling, policy, technology, and public health gathered at the 19th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking<\/a>. The event, hosted by IGI, takes place every three years and will be held May 26-28, 2026, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report will be a first of its kind and has the potential to become the industry de-facto report on how AI is impacting the gaming industry,\u201d says Dragicevic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dragicevic has sat on the boards of Canada’s Responsible Gambling Council and the Gambling Commission, which regulates commercial gambling and the national lottery in Great Britain.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs countries and corporations invest hundreds of billions of dollars into AI in a bid to become first to develop AGI [artificial general intelligence] in the next five years,\u201d says Dragicevic, \u201cit\u2019s critical to ensure all aspects of the technology are researched and its impact understood, both from a product and commercial perspective, as well as a policy and safety perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Betting on the Long-Term Impact of AI in Gaming<\/p>\n

AiR Hub\u2019s mission is to lead research on how AI can be used in the gambling industry in a responsible and collaborative way. Part of IGI in the Stan Fulton Building on UNLV\u2019s campus, the hub will focus on collecting data related to important business and social issues, aiming to encourage safe and responsible AI use by working with gaming businesses, researchers, regulators, and other support organizations around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core, AI needs data. That whole interest in data-informed decision making is really what drives this,\u201d says Ghaharian. \u201cThe insights we uncover now will shape the future for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the hype around crypto and NFTs cooled, researchers at IGI always recognized and understood the long-term potential of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Brett Abarbanel, IGI’s executive director and UNLV College of Hospitality associate professor<\/p>\n

“AI isn\u2019t just another buzzword \u2014 this one has sticking power,\u201d says Brett Abarbanel<\/a>, IGI\u2019s executive director and an associate professor in the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality<\/a>. “The AiR Hub exists to ask not just what AI is, but how we should use it \u2014 and use it for good.”<\/p>\n

IGI brings its international network and influence \u2014 spanning over 60 jurisdictions and having trained thousands of executives and regulators \u2014 to the table and ensures that when AI is adopted, it is also understood, monitored, and developed responsibly, says Abarbanel.<\/p>\n

“IGI doesn\u2019t just study gaming. We study gaming\u2019s impact \u2014 from pop culture to problem gambling,” says Abarbanel, who\u2019s played a large part in growing the institute’s global reach. \u201cThere\u2019s only one continent we haven\u2019t done work on \u2014 Antarctica is next!\u201d<\/p>\n

A researcher who majored in statistics, Abarbanel acknowledges that,\u00a0as\u00a0with other monumental advances in technology, whether AI is \u201cgood or bad\u201d comes down to how humanity chooses to wield it. “A common analogy is that a knife can slice cheese or stab someone in the heart. AI is the same \u2014 it\u2019s all about how we use the tool.”<\/p>\n

Which is why AiR Hub has taken up the challenge of creating industry guidelines through a years\u2019 worth of research that will culminate in the State of AI in Gaming report.<\/p>\n

Global Influence: The State of AI in Gaming Report<\/p>\n

With the report\u2019s release in spring 2026, IGI\u2019s AiR Hub will be at the forefront of AI research in the gambling sector. The open-access report synthesizes data from diverse sources, including interviews with global stakeholders, surveys of industry and regulators, and a systematic collection of quantitative public data.The report will also dedicate a section to Responsible AI, covering the latest research and providing guidance for industry stakeholders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI can be powerful for growth \u2014 but it must be adopted responsibly. That\u2019s why we\u2019re building tools that help operators do it right,\u201d says Ghaharian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AiR Hub researchers, which include Ghaharian and Dragicevic as well as UNLV graduate and undergraduate students in hospitality, education, and computer science programs, will provide data on:<\/p>\n

\tCurrent and emerging AI use cases in gambling, including personalized marketing, back-end automation, and AI-powered customer service
\n\tBenchmarking AI adoption and maturity across the sector
\n\tResponsible AI practices and consumer protections
\n\tInnovative practices and how to share them across the industry<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gaming industry has the potential to leverage AI to create exciting and new entertainment experiences, but to ensure it fully capitalizes, we need to raise the AI literacy of the industry, and we see the State of AI in Gaming report playing a key role in facilitating this,\u201d says Dragicevic.<\/p>\n

Inside IGI’s Konami Gaming Lab with AiR Hub’s co-founder and student researchers, from left: Kasra Ghaharian; Ph.D. student Samantha Wells (Learning & Technology); master’s student Cesar Lozoya (Hospitality); fourth-year computer science students Melissa Swinehart and Antonio Le; and\u00a0Piyush Puranik, AiR Hub’s postdoctoral scholar and lead data scientist (Josh Hawkins\/UNLV)<\/p>\n

The Gold Standard in Research<\/p>\n

AiR Hub maintains its research independence by adhering to the established policies of UNLV International Gaming Institute that enforce strict \u201cfirewalls\u201d to keep funding sources from influencing research outcomes. The hub is funded through a combination of unrestricted donations, competitive grants, and contracted projects. Founding industry members serve on the Industry Advisory Panel. And, while members contribute valuable insights, they can\u2019t interfere with the research process or publication decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we want to see AiR Hub as the home for practical research into AI and the gambling industry,\u201d says Dragicevic. \u201cI believe this ethos is embedded in IGI and UNLV\u2019s approach. Underpinned with UNLV\u2019s very strict research ethics and governance framework.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report, by providing an analysis of the breadth of AI use within the gaming industry, will cover areas of unethical usage or problematic outcomes such as AI-created cheating, data breaches, job loss, creative stagnation, and environmental impact. “One of the core principles of AiR Hub is to promote responsible innovation,\u201d says Ghaharian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though the State of AI in Gaming report won\u2019t \u201chit\u201d until spring, the hub is poised to deal groundbreaking insights that will shape the future of AI in gaming for decades to come.<\/p>\n

“Competitive advantage and innovation are going to be major differentiators for companies,\u201d says Ghaharian. \u201cHow they leverage AI to create great experiences for customers \u2014 whether online or land-based \u2014 will define the next era of the industry.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Las Vegas, once solely known for casino floors that feature wall-to-wall table games and slot machines, has upped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[114,39556,5968,39554,85,46,1360,4855,39555],"class_list":["post-51642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-community-partnerships","tag-gaming","tag-hospitality-and-tourism","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-research","tag-science-and-technology","tag-unlv-initiatives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}