At the recently concluded ICE 2026 exhibition, Elena Rousseva, CEO of Playtech Services, gave an in-depth interview to iGB, detailing the plans for the new year of this "super engine for operations." Simply put, this established B2B supplier wants not only to provide technology but also to take over a whole bunch of miscellaneous tasks for operators—from player support, risk control, anti-money laundering, payment reconciliation, to CRM, product management, and even real-time identification of player experience pain points and immediate response. What's more exciting is that in 2026, Playtech will deploy "operational AI agents" in bulk, handing over a large amount of repetitive work to machines, allowing human resources to truly focus on player retention and sustainable gambling. Want to know the frontline situation of the global iGaming technology arms race? The PASA official website continues to dissect the bottom cards of leading suppliers.
First, from "back-office steward" to "all-powerful operator": significantly expanded service menu
In the past, the core label of Playtech Services was "experienced," especially rooted in Europe and the UK for over 15 years. But now, this operational system has been fully opened to all customers. Rousseva revealed that the new capability modules include:
•CRM and product management: Providing operators with a panoramic view of player behavior, no longer just scattered data reports.
•Real-time monitoring system: Capable of automatically capturing pain points the moment a player experience issue occurs, and triggering immediate intervention—such as payment glitches, withdrawal delays, the system directly intervenes for repair.
•B2C BI platform: Transforming massive player behavior into actionable business insights.
"We have already customized these capabilities for major customers, and now all Playtech partners can use them," Rousseva said.
Second, global restructuring: no longer just focusing on Europe
One of the key words for Playtech Services in 2026 is "localized implementation". In the past, the company was highly focused on Europe and the UK, but in the last two years, it has clearly accelerated its expansion:
Americas: Operational centers have been established in Latin America, the United States, and Canada.
Asia-Pacific: Officially entered the Asia-Pacific market last year, and a regional Hub is being set up.
This "global distributed Hub + central professional team" hybrid model can ensure local response speed without sacrificing the experience accumulated by the Playtech platform over the past 15 years. "Customers don't have to choose between 'global uniformity' and 'local adaptation,'" Rousseva emphasized.
Third, the main event of 2026: operational AI agents "seamlessly onboarding"
The most eye-catching part of the interview was the "Operational AI Agents". These are not just simple chatbots, but involve modeling and automating decades of operational logic from Playtech in areas like risk control, payments, KYC, and player support.
"Our colleagues can be completely freed from repetitive labor, focusing on player experience, loyalty programs, and responsible gambling."
— Elena Rousseva
In other words, AI agents are responsible for efficient delivery, while the human team handles care and strategy. If this combination works, operators will be able to support high concurrency at lower costs, while minimizing compliance and risk control leakage. Rousseva confirmed that 2026 will be the inaugural year for the full commercial use of operational AI agents.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
