Andrew Rhodes: AI, Crypto and Fair Play to Define the Next Era of Gambling

_{Andrew Rhodes addressing the IAGR Conference in Toronto. (Image: IAGR)}

Britain’s gambling landscape, said Andrew Rhodes, remains one of the world’s most mature and influential. Almost half of UK adults (48%) now participate in some form of gambling, generating a market worth £15.6 billion a year, £11.5 billion excluding lotteries.

“Remote gambling, which is almost all online, will be £6.9 billion in terms of the market, 60% of the whole shape of our market once we exclude lotteries,” Rhodes told regulators and industry leaders gathered at the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR 2025) in Toronto, Canada.

For operators, the message was clear: the balance of power continues to shift online. For players, that shift means more convenience and choice, but also a stronger need for regulation that ensures fairness and safety wherever they play.

AI and the Changing Nature of Play

Technology was another recurring theme. Rhodes said artificial intelligence has begun reshaping how gambling companies interact with their customers.

“In the last 12 months or so, operators [are] increasingly now using generative AI... to try and improve the consistency of customer interactions,” he said. “We know people are variable and machines are less so.”

AI, Rhodes noted, can help identify risky behaviour faster and make safer gambling tools more consistent. But the same technologies powering hyper-personalised ads also carry risks of creating “increased intensity that nobody necessarily intended.”

For players, that means sharper targeting and faster responses when things go wrong; for operators, it’s a reminder that innovation must evolve within the bounds of responsibility.

Crypto, Demographics, and the Next Wave of Risk

Rhodes warned that cryptocurrency use among under-40s is rising sharply, with some players now preferring crypto assets to traditional currency.

“What I personally felt maybe a year or two ago was perhaps a problem that was five years away, I think that is now maybe 12 to 24 months away,” he said.

While the UK currently has no licensed crypto casinos, unregulated platforms are proliferating. For operators, that spells an impending regulatory challenge. For players, the attraction of fast, anonymous crypto play comes with serious dangers: no consumer protection, no guaranteed payouts, and zero recourse if things go wrong.

Lotteries, Prize Draws, and a Surge in Integrity Cases

Not all the trends are digital. Rhodes highlighted the steady growth of Society Lotteries, charitable lotteries that must dedicate 20% of sales to good causes, now collectively topping £1 billion in sales. He also pointed to a surge in “large-scale prize draws,” some offering luxury homes as rewards.

At the same time, gambling-related criminal cases handled by the UK regulator have jumped 300% year-on-year, reflecting intensified enforcement.

For players, that crackdown means greater assurance that regulated play stays clean. For operators, it’s a warning that compliance failures are no longer tolerated as growing pressure mounts to keep gambling crime-free.

Taxation and Measuring Change

Rhodes turned to a more contentious topic: gambling taxation. With public debate heating up in the UK, he said the industry faces an era of scrutiny over whether it pays its fair share.

“When different factors change, it’s quite hard sometimes to work out exactly what impact each individual component had,” he said.

He noted that the Commission is running an evaluation programme to assess the impact of each reform under the government’s Gambling Act Review White Paper.
For operators of online and land based casinos, that means tighter oversight and the likelihood of more cost pressures; for players, it means potential changes in bonus structures, payout speeds, and even game availability.

Cracking Down on the Illegal Market

Rhodes described illegal gambling as “the most exploitative” part of the industry. Since creating a dedicated enforcement team three years ago, the Commission has reported nearly 200,000 illegal URLs to search engines, with close to 100,000 removed.

“We can measure the impact we’ve had,” he said. “We’re tracking over 1,000 illegal operators... and what we can see is if we can remove things from search results, we make it harder to find, so we slow them down.”

For legitimate operators, this upstream disruption of illegal sites helps protect market integrity. For players, it’s another reminder to stick with licensed brands, the only ones required to verify fairness, protect funds, and support problem gambling programs.

Fairness and Frustration: Withdrawals and Account Limits

Rhodes devoted a section to fairness, especially around withdrawals and account restrictions, two of the biggest consumer complaints.

Between June and September 2024, UK players made 44.2 million withdrawals, with 96.3% processed automatically and just 0.1% taking over 48 hours. 

“What we’re really interested in is the 0.1%, why they’re delayed,” he said, citing possible anti-money laundering checks or ID issues.

Account restrictions were another flashpoint. The Commission found 4.31% of active accounts were restricted for commercial reasons, with many affected players actually in profit. Rhodes cautioned that this could push frustrated bettors toward illegal sites.

For players, faster withdrawals and clearer communication are central to trust. For operators, fairness isn’t just an ethical obligation, it’s key to retaining customers in a competitive, regulated market.

Data, Young Players, and Real-Time Monitoring

The Commission’s ROCD (Regular Operator Core Data) project now streams anonymised player data directly from operators, allowing regulators to track gambling behaviour almost in real time.

In early results, Rhodes said players under 25 were least likely to set deposit limits but most likely to hit risk triggers. 

“The higher-risk consumer groups are exhibiting some of the higher-risk behaviours,” he said.

For operators, that data is a blueprint for smarter harm prevention. For players, especially younger ones, it’s a sign that regulation is catching up with technology—and that setting limits early remains the best safeguard.

Financial Risk Assessments and Affordability

The UK’s ongoing pilot on Financial Risk Assessments showed that the highest-spending gamblers were two to four times more likely to have debt management plans and two to five times more likely to have defaulted on credit in the past year.

Rhodes said the ability to identify such risks “in a frictionless way” through credit agencies marked a breakthrough in evidence-led regulation.

For operators, affordability checks are fast becoming a compliance requirement. For players, they serve as an early warning system designed to prevent spirals of debt, a shift toward protection rather than restriction.

Collaboration: A Shared Mission Across Borders

Rhodes ended his speech at the IAGR with a call for global cooperation among regulators. “We would all be making a critical mistake if we believe we could solve [these issues] on our own,” he said. 

“Find something this week with another regulator that you can work on together that will help us and help you achieve a better outcome.”

His message applies beyond regulators. For operators, cross-border cooperation can prevent illegal markets from gaining ground. For players, it means greater consistency in how fairness, safety, and responsible play are enforced worldwide.

Compliance, Data and Player Care Core to Survival

Rhodes’ keynote painted a picture of a fast-evolving industry balancing innovation and protection. For players, that means more transparency, quicker withdrawals, and stronger safeguards. For operators, it means adapting to an era where compliance, data, and player care are not optional, but core to survival.

As Rhodes put it: “Our words are to keep gambling safe and fair and crime-free.”

 The future, he reminded his audience, depends on everyone, from regulators to casinos to players, working together to make that promise real.