Harnessing AI for Gaming Innovation, Games24x7

The global online gaming market, valued at approximately $159 billion in 2020, is projected to reach $292 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 8.8% (Source: Allied Market Research). Within this sector, mobile gaming is anticipated to expand from $100 billion in 2021 to over $160 billion by 2025, fuelled by increasing smartphone penetration and innovative gaming experiences (Source: Newzoo).

Dr. Tridib Mukherjee, the Chief Data Science & AI Officer at Games24x7, joins Minu Sirsalewala, Executive Editor, Dataquest to explore how AI is revolutionizing the industry. With AI-driven personalization boosting user engagement by up to 30% and responsible gaming measures reducing problem gambling rates by 20%, Dr. Mukherjee provides insights into how Games24x7 leverages these technologies to enhance player experiences and ensure a safe gaming environment. In this exclusive interview, he discusses the company’s cutting-edge AI innovations, the challenges and opportunities of leading AI initiatives, and the future of AI in shaping the online gaming landscape.

How is Games24x7 leveraging AI to enhance its product offerings and personalize user experiences? Can you share specific examples of AI-driven innovations that have significantly impacted user engagement?

At Games24x7, our scientific and data-led approach towards business is our biggest differentiator. At heart, we are a technology company fuelled by a passion for gaming. It is this blend of passion and our scientific approach of running a business – which has constantly inspired us to innovate, bringing the timeless appeal of the most loved classic games to technology-enabled digital formats. And while we have grown over the years, our operating ethos – ‘Science of Gaming’, has stayed constant.

Hyper-personalization is key for us to understand player propensities so we can give them the best gaming journeys. Our AI and data science team analyses terabytes of player data to gain valuable insights, leveraging rigorous data analysis and AI algorithms to enhance gameplay experiences.

Our Responsible Gameplay (RGP) Framework underscores our commitment to player safety. It uses predictive tools to flag users with anomalous behaviour, ensuring user protection and creating a safe and secure gaming environment.

Our AI components enhance player engagement by predicting game actions, assessing player skills, and optimizing game strategies, while also streamlining business functions like marketing, customer service, and fraud detection. Additionally, AI-driven insights enable us to personalize player journeys with customized recommendations, ensuring that each player enjoys a uniquely tailored experience. These in-house developed tools provide distinctive gameplay, engaging players uniquely and setting our platform apart in a crowded market.

Additionally, our Responsible Gameplay (RGP) Framework underscores our commitment to player safety. It uses predictive tools to flag users with anomalous behaviour, ensuring

user protection and creating a safe and secure gaming environment.

From your perspective, what is the role of AI in transforming digital consumer-facing industries, particularly online gaming? How do you see this evolving in the next few years?

As technology permeates every facet of our lives, the demand for personalized experiences has surged. Hyper-personalization, powered by AI-driven predictive tools, is the key to satiating this appetite. For example, by leveraging unique customer data such as demographics, playing patterns, and preferences, we can create a personalized playing environment, segment entry fees based on individual preferences, or offer unique deals tailored to a player’s specific interests.

This level of customization enhances user engagement and satisfaction by ensuring that each player feels that the experience is uniquely crafted for them. However, the power of data and AI is not limited to this. It is widely used across various business operations: in marketing, for targeted campaigns and customer insights; in HR, for talent acquisition and employee engagement; and in finance, for risk management and financial forecasting. By embedding AI into the core of business processes, companies can make more informed decisions, optimize resources, and stay ahead in a competitive landscape, ensuring sustained growth and adaptability in an ever-evolving market.

Our AI and data science components, combined with various functions enable us to bring various solutions to our products to ensure responsible gameplay.

At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge that we’re still in the early stages of understanding the full potential of AI. The possibilities that technological advancements offer is vast, it will take time for us to fully grasp its capabilities and implications. As we continue to explore and understand AI’s potential, we will unlock even more innovative ways to transform the online gaming industry, setting new standards for personalization and engagement that will shape the future of the industry.

As the Chief Data Science and AI Officer, what are the key challenges and opportunities you encounter in leading AI initiatives at Games24x7? How does dedicated AI leadership contribute to the company’s success?

The online gaming industry stands as a robust and distinct digital native sector, setting it apart from other industries in the market. This distinctiveness is especially evident due to its random scalability needs, particularly during major sporting events. The unique demand necessitates the use of appropriate technological tools to ensure smooth operations and deliver a seamless user experience.

At Games24x7, we have developed cutting-edge in-house AI tools that provide us with a 360-degree view of our users, specifically designed to understand their journeys and tailor our offerings accordingly. From a user’s first impression to platform onboarding, early engagement, and loyal commitment, AI powers every step of their journey.

Our in-house AI algorithms and models play a pivotal role in personalizing user experiences by predicting and responding to user behaviour in real time. They leverage advanced machine learning techniques to analyse extensive data points, allowing us to anticipate user preferences, optimize engagement strategies, and identify potential areas of improvement. This enables us to not only enhance user satisfaction but also drive long-term loyalty and retention.

Our AI and data science components, combined with various functions enable us to bring various solutions to our products to ensure responsible gameplay.

At Games24x7, with our foundation rooted in science, we have been focused on data science & AI and ML right from our inception. A dedicated leadership is essential in this process, as it forms the genesis of our team, guiding them through the complexities of developing and deploying these advanced tools. The role involves not just assembling a technically proficient team, but also ensuring alignment with the company’s vision, setting strategic priorities, and fostering a culture of innovation. Such leadership is crucial in balancing rapid innovation with scalability and reliability, allowing us to proactively address user needs and drive business growth, ultimately contributing to the company’s success.

What measures is Games24x7 taking to ensure a healthy and responsible online gaming environment using AI and other technologies? How do you balance user engagement with responsible gaming practices?

With the increased adoption of online gaming as an entertainment avenue, it is important to recognize and promote responsible gaming practices to ensure a healthy and sustainable industry. At Games24x7, our deep learning model, ‘Scarce GAN’ — an industry-first, AI-powered, Responsible Game Play (RGP) framework cum tool – ensures that our players can enjoy our gaming platforms in a safe and controlled manner.

Using a range of predictive tools, this framework assesses each player’s behavior through their interactions on the platform and flags users at risk. Once we identify a player at risk, we take proactive measures to prevent overconsumption. Our AI and data science components, combined with various functions enable us to bring various solutions to our products to ensure responsible gameplay. These measures include offering self-exclusion and self-limiting options, providing counselling sessions led by experts, or suspending the player’s account to allow them to take a break from gaming.

We want users to be able to come and enjoy our platform responsibly and for its intended purpose as a form of entertainment that is accessible to them. We continue to invest in this direction and our recent algorithm, Actionable Forecasting Network (AFN), helps us further identify risky users much earlier in their journey.

How does Games24x7 address regulatory and ethical considerations in its use of AI? What steps are taken to ensure data privacy and security while delivering personalized gaming experiences?

Games24x7 adheres to the E-Gaming Federation’s Code of Conduct, setting the standard for fair play and ethical gaming practices. We apply the principle of least privilege for our processes and computing systems to ensure data privacy while delivering personalized experiences. We employ top-notch data protection tools, ensuring a secure and transparent playing field, free from bots and unverified profiles. Advanced digital security and anti-fraud tools provide users with secure payment options and safeguard their data and transactions.

What emerging AI technologies do you see as game-changers for the online gaming industry? How is Games24x7 preparing to adopt and integrate these technologies to stay ahead of the curve?

At Games24x7, we are committed to delivering the best user experience, driving us to continuously evolve and innovate. Our highly skilled AI and Data Science team is at the heart of this mission, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the rapidly advancing technological landscape. Generative AI stands out as a transformative technology with the potential to revolutionize the sector.

From both topline and bottomline perspectives, Generative AI can significantly enhance productivity by automating complex tasks, such as content creation, intelligent marketing, customer service automation, and many more internal workflow automation that can lead to tremendous innovation at scale across the entire value chain.

Dr. Tridib Mukherjee

Chief Data Science & AI Officer, Games24x7

By Minu Sirsalewala

minus@cybermedia.co.in