AI Is Exposing the Weakest Links in Online Casino UX, Says Jurnii CEO

_{Fraser Dunk shares his analysis on AI for business. (Image: Fraser Dunk/Jurnii)}

Online gambling is one of the most competitive digital markets in the world, yet many operators are still losing players for reasons they do not fully understand. According to Fraser Dunk, CEO of UX and AI firm Jurnii, the problem is not a lack of data but a lack of insight into why customers drop off.

Jurnii uses AI-driven benchmarking to analyse digital journeys across hundreds of online casinos and gambling brands. The goal, Dunk says, is to surface friction points operators often overlook and to show how those issues compare with competitors in the same market.

“Every gambling operator will have some form of analytics tool. They’ll know their behavioural data and their player data,” Dunk said.

 “I would describe that as the what. What was missing in the industry was an understanding of the why.”

Turning UX From Guesswork Into Data

Dunk describes Jurnii as a digital experience agency backed by a proprietary AI platform that automates competitor benchmarking across UX, promotions, and product journeys. What was once a manual, expensive process can now be done at scale.

“Competitive benchmarking, journey mapping, UX auditing, these are all processes that every iGaming operator follows,” he told Casinos.com in a recent podcast. “The problem with them is they take a lot of time and they cost a lot of money, and they’re not scalable.”

Listen to the full interview on our Podcast

AI, Dunk argues, has made it possible to deliver the same depth of insight instantly and at a fraction of the cost. Rather than reacting after players churn, Journey’s tools aim to identify problems before they are felt by customers.

“Traditional analytics tools, by the time you found out there’s a problem, it’s too late,” he said. “The customer’s already churned.”

Small Friction, Big Losses

Across the hundreds of brands Jurnii has analysed, Dunk says the most common mistakes are not dramatic failures but small breaks in expected UX patterns. Players rely on familiar conventions to move quickly through digital products, particularly on mobile.

“Most digital products share UX conventions,” he said.

 “And when these expectations are broken, even slightly, confusion sets in. It only takes a couple of moments of confusion to derail a conversion.”

Those friction points, he added, appear throughout the funnel, from first contact via advertising or influencers through to registration, deposits, and ongoing play. Any inconsistency can be enough to send players elsewhere.

The Journey Operators Undervalue Most

Dunk says operators tend to over-focus on acquisition while underestimating the importance of retention and post-registration experiences.

“The industry itself has a bit of a thesis of acquisition at all costs,” Dunk said.

“But it costs so much more to acquire a customer than to retain one.”

Areas such as account management, customer support, loyalty programmes, and help centres often receive less attention, despite playing a major role in long-term value.

“These things are all of equal importance, if not more importance than the acquisition journeys themselves,” Dunk said.

ICE Signals a Shift for AI and UX

Jurnii’s growing profile was evident at ICE this year, where Dunk said the company’s role had changed significantly since its launch in early 2024.

“Last year no one knew who we were,” he said. “This year we’ve got 16 clients, we’ve run analysis on 300 brands, and the whole purpose of the conference was very different.”

Many conversations at ICE centred on AI, UX, and the limitations of existing B2B platforms. Dunk said operators are increasingly frustrated by being locked into rigid front-end systems.

“There’s really a big desire for a B2B platform that enables true modularity and true customisation,” he said.

Transparency, AI, and Regulation

As AI tools become more powerful, some operators have raised concerns about transparency and competitive exposure. Dunk believes attempts to block benchmarking or visibility tools are unrealistic.

“Trying to defend against AI tools is almost like trying to block Google back in 2004,” he said.

 “Operators should be focussing on how they can sharpen their AI experience and visibility rather than simply blanket blocking it.”

He also rejected the idea that benchmarking harms competition, arguing that it is already deeply embedded in the industry.

“Everyone is always looking at what their competitors are doing,” Dunk said. “The difference is now AI is allowing benchmarking to happen more effectively and more scalable.”

What Comes Next for Jurnii

Looking ahead, Dunk said Journey plans to expand beyond diagnostics and into front-end solutions, using its growing dataset to define best-in-class UX by region and regulation.

“We’ve built a pretty good understanding of what best is,” he said. “So what we’re doing is turning this into a kind of design system.”

The long-term aim is to offer a front-end platform that adapts as player behaviour and industry standards evolve.

“If a competitor releases a new feature, we know they’re doing that,” Dunk said. “We can amend that within our own front-end experience.”