BetHog CEO and founder Nigel Eccles has predicted 80% of dealers across live casino games will be AI-powered within the next five years.
The crypto casino, which unveiled the world’s first AI croupier, Sunny, last October, announced the launch of Sentient Studios, its own AI-dealer studio, alongside raising $10m in Series A funding on Wednesday, 22 April.
Sentient Studios has a team of 12 people in the UK and four people in the US.
Speaking about the launch, Eccles told EGR that the vast majority of online live casino dealers will be AI avatars within the next five years.
He said: “Our view is that in five years, probably 80% of the live dealer market will be using AI avatars.
“That’s 80% of a $15bn market. In fact, AI avatars will massively grow the market because we find that a lot of players find live dealers a little intimidating and are more willing to play with an AI dealer.”
Evolution, which counts itself as the largest live casino supplier in the industry, said 88% of its total headcount in 2025 worked on tables as hosts and dealers.
The Stockholm-listed supplier also noted in its annual report that its largest cost item is personnel.
“For live casino, the most basic agreements normally include access to and streaming from generic tables, while more complex agreements can include dedicated tables and environments, VIP services, native-speaking dealers and other customisations to produce a live casino experience that is unique for the end user and helps the operator to stand out from the crowd,” the report reads.
During the Evolution Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, 22 April, the supplier did not mention AI.
Evolution runs 24 studios across Europe, the US, Asia and Latam.
Eccles has argued that the AI dealers are able to deliver a better product for end users, while matching language and personalisation capabilities existing live casino offerings hold currently.
He added: “What we’re trying to do is to replace live dealers with an AI-powered version of it.
“Live dealer is a great product, but it often doesn’t live up to the levels that it markets, the dealers are often bored and uninterested.
“The sound quality is very poor and we believe that we can actually build a better product using AI and avatars.”
The latest investment round raised $10m, co-led by VC firm Will Ventures and digital asset investment company RockawayX.
Eccles, who co-founded FanDuel and BetDEX, explained the AI-dealer product was the “core” to its pitch.
“It is something that makes us very distinctive. No one has really anything like it in the market today,” he added.
“The team is already built. We have an expert team of animators and engineers.”
Following the launch of Sunny, SkillOnNet launched its own AI-powered dealer on its PlayUZU brand in Mexico in December.
The product is contained to roulette for the time being, with management describing the launch as a “leap forward in how players connect with technology”.
LeoVegas Group founder Gustaf Hagman has also stepped into the space after he revealed Avanti Studios earlier this year.
Though this didn’t directly lead to the creation of Sentient Studios, the Eccles did note that other casinos had reached out to add Sunny to their offering.
He said: “It didn’t make sense to just keep it within BetHog. We’ve had really good traction and a lot of outreach from other casinos that wanted to add her. It became a very natural decision for us to do B2B.”
The post BetHog CEO claims 80% of live casino dealers will be AI in five years first appeared on EGR Intel.
Nigel Eccles makes prediction after launching AI-powered studio Sentient Studios, with other suppliers dipping toes into space, such as Gustaf Hagman’s Avanti Studios
The post BetHog CEO claims 80% of live casino dealers will be AI in five years first appeared on EGR Intel.