From the Bellagio Hotel & Casino on May 27, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) organized the 19th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking, covering topics such as automated operations in gaming, sports betting and the growing threat of prediction markets.
Beginning with a recap of KPMG’s State of AI in Gaming Report 2026, developed in collaboration with UNLV’s International Gaming Institute (IGI), the panel touched on multiple areas where challenges still remain for the industry.
Gaming remains in the ‘development stage’ of AI implementation
UNLV IGI Graduate Research Assistant Melissa Swinehart started the discussion by reviewing the industry index portion of the 2026 AI in Gaming study, finding a gap of 14 percentage points between maturity for online gambling operations and land-based verticals. According to Swinehart, 76% of companies confirmed the "top driver" of AI implementation is to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Arpin spoke on how the report found that online operators are "ahead of the game" in AI implementation compared to land-based entities. Station Casinos Chief Information Officer CJ Foster believes that combining the numerous verticals of land-based operations can become "difficult," especially as regulatory challenges halt operators from changing their environment.
Speaking on augentic AI, Foster stated it’s not about "replacing the human," but letting workers focus more on hospitality and guest experience. In agreement, Fontainebleau Las Vegas SVP of Marketing and Innovation Lori Kobashigawa said AI is about "bridging the gap" between guest hospitality and finding solutions to operational difficulties.
Foster continued by speaking on how it's hard to "plant your foot" in AI implementation, while Kobashigawa confirmed Fontainebleau continues to sort through the "fact or fiction" of automated practices.
Former Rio Hotel & Casino President and CEO Patrick Miller shared there's still "optimism" from land-based operators to implement AI to a higher degree, but a "caution" to ensure it's being done in the "right way."
Believing there is no "best practice" to launching automated operations, Miller said consumers are moving "way faster" than gaming entities in using AI on a day-to-day basis. Miller also touched on how regulators "have the same goal" as operators to "advance" the industry, but believes the "shiny" appeal of AI can still generate concern.
When asked by Arpin how Station Casinos can stop AI from "running rampant" in gaming, Foster stated the operator will "take on risk" to mitigate concerns prior to fully implementing automated operations. Kobashigawa worried over consumers discovering the "wrong information" on how AI is being introduced in gaming, believing "the last thing we need" is people making their own decisions while remaining uninformed on the matter.
Should consumers view sports betting as a ‘puzzle’ rather than wagering?
During the lunch portion of the 19th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking, The Volume podcaster Chad Millman and ESPN Betting Analyst Pamela Maldonado hosted a “candid conversation” on the evolution of sports betting.
It's not prediction markets that worry me, it's the way prediction markets are regulated that worries me
Sharing how she views sports betting more as a “puzzle” rather than wagering, Maldonado said: “It's taken 10 years of framework to develop the mindset of sports betting being a puzzle rather than a wager.
“People think sports betting is 'I have to be right,' but that's not the goal. I want sports betting to be considered as solving a riddle rather than chasing a high.”
Maldonado stated bettors need to have the "same emotional control" over losses as they do wins, even while Millman spoke on how US players are more interested in "getting rich quick." Millman also commented on the "failure" of media organizations which force analysts to make predictions or wager recommendations even if they don't feel confident in doing so.
The former ESPN.com Editor-in-Chief confirmed betting spreads for the NFL and college football have become "so much more accurate," although Maldonado "doesn't feel the same way.” Sharing that she would like to see if research backs Millman's sentiment. Maldonado said "inefficiencies still exist” in sports betting, but it just depends on "how far you are willing to dig."
Prediction markets are a ‘floodgate waiting to open’
To cap off the first day of coverage, Global Gaming Insider attended a regulatory panel which featured New Jersey Racing Commission Assistant Director Jordan Hollander, Esports Integrity Commissioner Ian Smith, Silver Garden Entertainment Founder and CEO Steven Brody and Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Director of Operational Compliance Ron Jacobs.
While Smith remains a "firm believer" in regulation, the Esports Integrity Commissioner stated expansion has been "interesting, but not helpful," given the amount of differing regulatory opinions that have formed across the US. Smith said the issue regulators have had is with legislation written by "people who don't really know what they're doing," but have also been given a reputation of doing "nothing" about the black market or unlicensed operators.
On where the industry can improve with regulatory practices, Brody shared: “One of the areas of data that doesn't get considered enough is contact data.
“I've listened to some very powerful calls where a player explains the problems they're having, only to call minutes, hours or days later desperate to play again.”
Hollander brought attention to the "gaps" in online gaming regulation, especially as the people who originally wrote New Jersey's gambling legislation "could not fathom" how far the vertical has since come. Jacobs believes gaming technology has "outpaced" regulation at times, while Smith and Brody chose to delve into the "murky waters" of prediction markets during the May 27 panel.
“I don't feel the CFTC is the right body (to regulate) prediction markets. It's not prediction markets that worry me, it's the way prediction markets are regulated that worries me,” Smith said.
Brody spoke on how the vertical may be a factor of regulators overstepping their authority, having said, “Prediction markets are a consequence of over-regulation and over-taxation. One thing that hasn't gotten attention is operators are very good at setting the markets.
“I don't think the incentive structure is there with prediction markets. They should be looked at as a space not necessarily for the regulators to step in, but one where operators can.”
Smith went on to describe prediction markets as a "floodgate waiting to open," and confirmed the UK "knows it's coming." As regulatory battles with prediction markets continue in the US, it’s only a matter of time until the same challenges faced by lawmakers extend across the pond.
KPMG collaborated with the UNLV’s IGI on April 9 to release The State of AI in Gaming 2026 report, which tracks how artificial intelligence is helping to shape gambling through industry maturity
