07-22-2026 
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing everything in iGaming. Well, almost everything.
- AI’s Impact on iGaming: Human connection amid technological advancements
- AI as a Game-Changer: Insights from industry leaders at the expo
- Importance of In-Person Interaction: Bridging tech and genuine relationships
As the use of AI increases rapidly across the board, in-person communication and face-to-face interaction remain essential for doing business. In fact, I think it’s more important now than ever. This is exactly why events like iGB L!VE are essential for pushing the iGaming industry forward—it’s the perfect combination of the latest technology and real human connection.
iGB L!VE 2026, organized by WorldGaming (formerly Clarion), took place at ExCeL London in the first week of July, and I loved every minute of it. I moderated an investor panel at the iGB Startup Accelerator and conducted interviews for CoinGeek at the expo, all with a focus on how the latest tech is shaping the future of iGaming.
“There’s a load of innovation coming out of the gaming sector at the moment, be it new games, new reg tech, new compliance tech, and we’re certainly seeing all of that,” Jody Frost, WorldGaming’s Head of Marketing, shared with me on the busy expo floor.
“No conversation about technology is complete without mentioning AI, and it has absolutely changed the game,” he added.
While I was perusing the affiliate section of the expo, I bumped into Russell Yerson, Director of Connecting Brands, now focused on World Cup madness and connecting football legends with publishers and sports betting brands. When I asked him what exciting technology he was hearing about on the expo floor, I’ll give you one guess what his response was.
“AI obviously is the buzzword every year now, but for brands and affiliates, for them to save money using the AI, especially challenger brands, it can work really well. It’s expensive to run these businesses, and if they can use AI to help and leverage themselves, then fantastic,” Yerson said.
John Wright, a seasoned affiliate and AI enthusiast, recently launched NousVis, an open-source data analytics platform. He pointed out some of the mistakes people are making with AI, resulting in hallucinations and other challenges.
“The way in which I think people need to harness AI is use AI to build products that do the calculations and they get you towards the answer rather than taking your data and putting it into AI,” he explained to me.
“You can build your own CRM where your data’s not stored on someone else’s server. You get to own your data, and that’s actually one of the biggest takeaways for what AI is making possible today,” Wright added.
Over at the iGB Trends Stage, I caught a presentation by Sébastien Risse, Chief Revenue Officer at Move Up Media, who spoke about scaling affiliate acquisition across iGaming markets. When we spoke after his session, Risse referenced AI in a way I hadn’t expected, but I loved the different perspective he offered.
“Today, we are feeling, let’s say, for the past two years, extreme volatility everywhere. And not only the rules of one actor—not the rules of one operator, one regulator—but regulation, operators, Google, Meta, channel acquisition themselves are changing every day,” he said.
“So AI, of course, is one topic. I’m sure it’s on the top of the lips of everybody, but it’s not the main threats on short term,” Risse added.
iGaming affiliate veteran Ian Sims, founder of Rightlander, shared his thoughts on the latest iGaming tech and said attribution to AI will be a major talking point across the board.
“One of the things we look at in Rightlander is the influence of affiliates on LLMs. So, how does an affiliate or publisher influence the operator brand or the e-commerce brand in the LLM? I think that’ll be something that starts to factor into how people not only deploy affiliates, but also start to pay them for influence,” Sims said.
While AI clearly stole the show from a technology perspective at iGB L!VE, one of the knock-on effects of a new digital world is that greater value will be placed on real human connection. To nurture a thriving online industry, we need to build trust in in-person relationships.
“I think there is only a certain amount of trust in a relationship that can be built in person, face-to-face. Ultimately, every business is about people, and people need to be together. People need to interact with each other and form those relationships, and it’s just not possible without these kinds of events,” emphasized Frost.
“If we partner with trustworthy operators, B2B suppliers, affiliates, everyone will be safer. And we can have an industry that is called entertainment,” added Luis Portela de Carvalho, Co-Managing Partner of Lektou and active participant in iGB L!VE’s Sustainable Gambling Zone.
When asked what stood out for him at iGB L!VE this year, iGaming consultant Adnan Maslo put it simply: “It’s really to reconnect with all partners and friends, come back to London and attend the show. It’s been one of my favorite shows forever.”
Looking back on my time at iGB L!VE, I can see technology, especially AI, is quickly changing the way we have been operating for several decades now. I often talk about how harnessing blockchain tech can improve trust between two parties, but nothing will ever replace face-to-face connection when doing business.
In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek’s coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.
Watch | Beyond Payments: Blockchain’s Bigger Role in iGaming
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