Based on Vixio analysis of recent regulatory events and market data, this report provides high-level intelligence on the global regulatory changes affecting AI

Vixio, a leading provider of regulatory intelligence solutions, has released the 2024 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Outlook report, covering global trends in AI regulation and adoption in the payments and gambling industries.

AI regulatory developments have popped up across the globe in the last year, with Western Europe leading the way with the most updates. According to the Vixio AI Outlook report, the UK and EU have released over 40 updates in AI regulation since 2023.

Specific jurisdictions that have taken notable steps to regulate the use of AI include Canada, the EU, Hong Kong, Spain, and the UK. Several jurisdictions have regulatory developments in progress, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Luxembourg, Malta, South Africa and Uruguay. In contrast, other jurisdictions, such as the US, have released guidance and best practices.

“Right now, regulators are in a nascent stage surrounding AI regulation. However, as businesses increasingly explore the adoption of AI, regulators will follow suit,” explains John Gidla, Head of PaymentsCompliance at Vixio. “But, at this stage, governments and regulators are watching the development of AI and looking to better understand potential opportunities and threats, and trying to balance the fine line between consumer protection and innovation.” 

In the payments industry, regulators are observing how AI is being used by payments and banking institutions. The full report includes case studies of AI implementation in FinTechs like Revolut, Mastercard, Visa and more. Some of the opportunities surrounding AI in the payments industry include:

• allowing quicker fraud detection by analysing transaction patterns to detect unusual behavior in real time
• predicting future behavior, allowing for highly target marketing campaigns
• detecting cyber threats and weaknesses that could lead to a cyberattack

In the gambling industry, the top use cases of AI for regulators is reducing workload in areas such as annual audits of licenses. For gambling operators and suppliers, top use cases include:

• improving personalization by analysing a player’s history
• identifying risky behaviours, allowing operators to encourage responsible gambling
• automating early intervention messages to customers exhibiting potentially harmful behaviour

This report is part of Vixio’s Outlook series, which provides subscribers with forward-looking insights and consolidated research on key segments of the global gambling and payments industries. This edition is designed to provide high-level intelligence and forecasts surrounding the use, development and regulatory changes affecting artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on the payments and gambling markets.

Award-winning supplier set to launch slots across Rank Group’s online brands

Playson, the fast-growing digital entertainment supplier, has tightened its grip on the UK market through a deal to supply its renowned games portfolio to UK operator Rank Group.

The partnership with one of the market’s leading operator groups follows a strong year of growth in the market. As part of the agreement, Rank Group will now have access to Playson’s leading titles including Coin Strike: Hold and Win, Royal Coins 2: Hold and Win and Energy Coins: Hold and Win.

Founded in 1937, Rank Group has grown to become the largest casino operator in Great Britain with leading brands Mecca and Grosvenor under its umbrella.

Playson continues to strengthen its European footprint and the latest integration, which is being made via Pariplay’s Fusion platform, underlines the supplier’s commitment to establishing itself within highly mature regulated markets.

Paul McInnes, Sales Manager at Playson, said: “We are thrilled to enjoy further growth in the UK with this major partnership and continue to offer our unparalleled array of slots to players across Europe.

“We are confident that with Rank Group’s significance presence in the market, combined with our stimulating and graphically driven slots, this latest partnership will deliver business growth for both organisations.”

Nolan Frendo, Casino Games Manager at Rank Group, said: “Playson’s slots are in high demand across the UK and Europe, and we are delighted to integrate a selection of their games across Rank Group’s iconic brands.

“We are sure our players will enjoy discovering the Playson slots we now offer and look forward to discovering what the future holds for our partnership.”

Yaniv Baruch, COO of Playnance, a dedicated GameFi ecosystem running on PlayBlock:

Let me cite the newest DappRadar games report: “While August may have seemed like a relatively quiet month for blockchain gaming, it reached a new all-time high in activity.” The number of daily unique active wallets (dUAW) set another record, hitting the 4.2 million mark — a 5% increase from the previous month. The GameFi industry hasn’t been making headlines lately, but new games keep launching, and users continue to demonstrate increasing engagement with blockchain games. 

However, Web3 gaming has given up its leadership in the dApp niche over the past two months — AI-based applications have claimed the top spot, capturing a 29% share of the market. One might assume that GameFi is losing ground — but I believe Web3 gaming has a stronger potential than any other crypto narrative for four reasons.

First, investment figures suggest that VCs continue to show strong interest in the industry. GameFi projects raised $1.1 billion in Q2 2024, which is 314% more than in the previous quarter. Investments are going towards gaming studios rather than specific titles — we see a strong focus on infrastructure development and the holistic growth of the industry, which should lead to a comprehensive outcome in the next months and years.

Second, GameFi continues to overcome the limitations that have hindered mass users from embracing blockchain games. Thanks to account abstraction, Web3 games are evolving to feel just like traditional games in terms of user experience — they eliminate the hassle of private key management, the need to constantly sign transactions, and even gas fees. Solutions like Arbitrum Stylus allow devs to launch smart contracts written in languages other than Solidity, opening the door to GameFi for thousands of experienced developers in Rust, C, and C++.

Third, GameFi is becoming increasingly immersive — and in the coming year, we’ll hit a new milestone as the first Web3 gaming devices go live. SuiPlay0X1 and Play Solana Gen1 are set to elevate the blockchain gaming experience, making it even more akin to Web2 products. Along with account abstraction, crypto consoles seamlessly integrate blockchain technology into games, making it more accessible to the masses.

Last but not least, we’ve seen a significant influx of users entering the Web3 gaming space, largely due to the popularity of TON and Telegram-based games, primarily tap-to-earn projects. These games and their airdrops have become the first crypto experience for millions of users. Token recipients began seeking ways to trade and withdraw their rewards, create accounts on crypto exchanges and Web3 wallets, and discover other crypto games. New products keep emerging in the Telegram gaming ecosystem every month, so TON is likely to continue pushing GameFi forward.

GameFi is sharing the spotlight with AI applications, but its potential remains largely untapped. Web3 brings specific utility to gaming — it provides ownership of in-game assets and ensures their security in games where these assets hold real value. Blockchain allows users to freely manage them, enhancing the overall experience and deepening connection with the game. Blockchain perks are also widely applied in iGaming — dApps where users can earn based on their predictions. This sector is one of the top 12 crypto narratives for 2024, and also has immense growth potential as part of GameFi. In this case, decentralization creates transparency and trust, fostering trust between developers and players. Ultimately, the speed and performance of new blockchain solutions is a critical factor for this sector. So, the modern L2 and L3 solutions are an important driver here (e.g. Playblock L3 solution has 0.1s time block, with 1.7M daily transactions) to provide the best user experience for any type of GameFi and iGaming solutions.   

The stage is set for Web3 gaming resurgence with continued investment pouring in, user experiences becoming seamless through account abstraction, and exciting Web3 gaming devices on the horizon. The wave of new users drawn in by TON and Telegram is a promising sign that this vibrant ecosystem is just getting started. GameFi has the potential to thrive, taking a position among the most exciting crypto narratives.