UNLV Report Highlights Gaps in AI Use in Gaming

by Angelina Vodenicharova, 14 April 2026

While over 80% of gaming companies use Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in some form, only one in five companies in the industry have roles in place to govern AI, according to a report released by the International Gaming Institute (IGI) of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The State of AI in Gaming 2026 report, an initiative of IGI’s AI Research Hub (AiRHUB), was released in collaboration with U.S. auditing and tax advisory firm KPMG. Drawing on research of 115 and 83 worldwide gaming regulators and companies, respectively, the report is the debut edition of a series that will benchmark and track how AI is shaping the global gaming industry.

Kasra Ghaharian, the report’s Editor-in-Chief and Director of Research for IGI, said that to date, there has been no rigorous, independent baseline to interpret the gambling industry’s position on AI. He added that the report is designed to fill that gap and serve as a valuable resource for operators, regulators, and other industry stakeholders.

The Governance Gap

Among the key findings highlighted in the 113-page report was the governance gap, referring to the disconnect that runs through the industry’s dedicated roles for AI governance. With only 20% of the companies researched having dedicated AI governance roles, over 42% have no plans of hiring for such roles in the near future.

“While the governance gap is an interesting finding, which we highlighted, the report itself gives further insight into the topic,” Ghaharian told Online-Casinos.com, highlighting that the report should serve as a baseline for further development and research.

“For example, it may seem that the industry is relatively less concerned about problem gambling risks that are amplified by AI. But this doesn’t necessarily mean lack of care. There can be other explanations, for example, perhaps there is less concern about these risks because AI is also being used to amplify player protection strategies. It would be interesting to look at it in more detail.”

More Key Findings

In addition to the governance gap, the report highlighted early-stage maturity: most gambling companies have the appetite and strategic ambitions to adopt AI but are constrained by infrastructure and expertise.

The report also found that while over 80% of the companies studied embraced Generative AI, adoption of Agentic AI was lagging. While most companies use AI systems to generate and enhance content, far fewer have moved to implement Agentic AI systems, which can independently plan, decide, and execute tasks.

Another key finding is the regulatory-industry disconnect, which highlights significant disagreements between companies and regulators over where and how AI should be deployed, with authorities reporting limited visibility and low confidence in regulatory oversight. However, both sides agree that responsible AI practices need further development.

Lastly, academic publications, patent filings, conferences, and startup innovation signal an accelerating innovation pipeline, showing that AI innovation is growing in the gambling ecosystem despite of parcial adoption across companies.

When speaking with Online-Casinos.com about the study, Piysh Puranik, Postdoctoral Scholar at the IGI and Lead Data Scientist for AirHUB said: “AI adoption is not growing in a vacuum, and our report shows that the gaming industry is slow on the uptake as compared to most other industries. Big Tech and health sciences see rapid growth because they tap into academic research, and work with regulators instead of against them. I’m hoping we can bring this level of collaboration to the gaming industry as well and provide the best entertainment experience we can for patrons.”