On 25 November 2025, Winna Media held the AI in Gaming Investment Seminar at the Carlton Hotel Bangkok.
Speakers enlightened the audience on topics ranging from how to build defensible AI companies that are worth investing in, and provided a number of case studies of how artificial intelligence tools are boosting critical data insights, intelligence decisions, and productivity.
Winna Media would like to thank all the speakers on the day for sharing their time and knowledge
Jeffrey Haas, Tom Hall, Staffan Lindgren, Kyle Wiltshire, Akkaraporn Muangsobha, Napat Chaidejsuriya, Max Tesla, Keith Zammit, Navneeth Srinivas, Harmen Brenninkmeijer, Dereck Alexander Jon Hoogenkamp, Jittinun Chatsiharach, and Danny Ong
The AI in Gaming Investment Seminar in Bangkok on 25 November showcased an afternoon of presentations and discussions around investment in and adoption of AI and frontier technologies.
Presentations highlighted both the immense potential for growth and the regulatory, ethical, and operational challenges that come with integrating artificial intelligence. The Dual Imperative: Profit and Player Protection
A core theme revolved around the challenge of maximising profit while maintaining player safety, an idea presented as “The Double-Edged AI Sword”.
Conclusions drawn were that it is possible for operators to optimise for both maximum profit and maximum player safety at the same time by leveraging AI. However, building dual-objective AI models is challenging due to the need for niche, expensive talent (Data Scientists, AI Ethicists). The common issue of data silos, where “Engagement” data lives with Marketing and “Risk” data with Compliance, is also a challenge.
Moreover, operators who implemented proactive AI-driven Responsible Gaming (RG) measures reported a 20% decrease in player churn and a 17% increase in player Lifetime Value (LTV).
AI and Business Intelligence: Transforming Operations
The integration of AI with Business Intelligence (BI) was presented as a solution for transforming the iGaming landscape by moving beyond dashboards to real-time insights.
Operators face issues such as a lack of real-time intelligence, mis-targeted segments, too many dashboards causing delayed decisions, margin leakages, and teams operating in silos.
AI acts as “The Predictor” (what will happen next), while BI acts as “The Explainer” (why it’s happening).
AI & BI are leveraged for:
The Future of Decision Intelligence includes an Intelligence Layer for a single real-time truth, automated workflows, instant real-time alerts, and reduced operational leakage.
Next-Gen AI for Market and Competitive Intelligence
Advanced AI is being used to provide comprehensive, real-time market insights that transform competitive analysis, creating a more transparent, efficient, and responsible gaming ecosystem.
Blask presented AI-Powered Discovery: An advanced AI system that autonomously discovers and analyses 17,280 new gaming websites daily, providing instant insights on new competitors and market shifts.
Key Analytical Metrics include the ability to provide an hourly interest indicator of market demand by country or brand, which historically shows a strong correlation with actual market size.
Also, the Acquisition Power Score (APS): An AI model that estimates a brand’s sustained capacity to acquire new users, and the Game Rank (GVR) which tracks the average lobby position of a game to show its visibility, promotions, and priority shifts by country, operator, and provider.
The Evolving Regulatory Landscape
Regulatory bodies are racing to keep up with the pace of AI development, with a focus on legislative considerations for equity and sustainability.
Thailand’s Draft AI Law emphasises Human Accountability, in that Humans remain legally responsible for AI actions, as AI is treated as a tool, not a legal entity.
It also grants individuals the right to be informed, receive explanations, and contest decisions.
Current Thai laws address AI implications through Tort Law (liability for harm), the PDPA (player data), and Copyright Law (ownership of original game content and AI-generated works).
Legal risks include lawsuits over training models on copyrighted art and the unauthorised use of voices via AI Voice Cloning/Deepfake.
Regional Trends
Since the event was a blend of Western ideas with Asian talent, the market differences between Europe and Asia were also discussed. It was proposed that Europe, driven by strict regulation (GDPR, KYC, AML), leads to “Reactive Innovation” focused on compliance and fraud detection. European players are motivated by fair play and consumer protection.
Asia, on the other hand, is driven by fierce competition and a mobile-first player base, leading to “Proactive Innovation” for rapid product prototyping and new game mechanics. Asian players are motivated by luck, destiny, community status, and design.
Asia Casino News (ACN) is an online media publication dedicated to news and features about iGaming, casinos, leisure, and entertainment.
Launched in early 2021, Asia Casino News stands at the forefront of digital media, delivering comprehensive coverage of the casino and sports sectors. Our news and resource articles cover a wide range of topics that are vital for iGaming, casinos, and sports businesses to excel. Our categories range from casino and industry updates, iGaming and sports to entertainment.
Our expert writers provide the latest developments in casino operations, iGaming, and lottery updates. We provide breaking news, resource articles, and features designed to keep readers ahead of the curve.
At Asia Casino News, our mission is to empower our readers with the most current and relevant information, allowing them to make well-informed decisions in the fast-paced world of the Asian casino and iGaming industry.
Focus Gaming News is a media group that produces a daily online newspaper tailored to international gaming executives. With over 100,000 monthly readers worldwide, our publication delivers timely and relevant news on the gaming and iGaming industries. Our five daily editions, each tailored to a specific global market (Europe and North America, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Brazil), deliver actionable intelligence and expert analysis to inform business decisions. They also provide:
– Industry news: updates on land-based casinos, regulation, legislation, sports betting, and online gaming.
– Product and trend reports: in-depth reports on the latest products and trends in the industry.
– Expert interviews: exclusive interviews with key specialists in the industry.
Our goal is to provide accurate and timely information to gaming executives, enabling them to make informed decisions and stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and developments.
G3 is a global media channel supplying news, market research, expert opinions and data to the international gaming community. G3 encompasses a monthly print and digital magazine, G3Newswire.com daily gaming news service, podcasts and support Apps for both magazine and news delivery. The G3Newswire emailer is a tri-weekly news update, while the G3 Pulse delivers articles, features and opinions in a bi-weekly format that includes a popular podcast series.
Global Gaming Insider is your destination for industry-defining news, analysis, and thought leadership. Our modern digital platform puts you in control – follow the topics, companies, and countries that matter to you, and receive updates tailored to your interests. Global Gaming Insider brings together the most recognisable media products in gaming: Global Gaming Insider magazine; The Huddle video podcast and GGI Friday.
Gaming Intelligence serves the information and advertising needs of the global gambling and lottery industry through digital and print channels, both in English and Spanish, and recognises industry excellence with the annual Gaming Intelligence Awards and Hot 50.
Gaming International Online magazine was launched in early 2019 having originally been a selection within Casino International dedicated to iGaming.
Enjoying monthly distribution as a stand-alone digital publication to global Gaming professionals, Gaming International Online also delivers a weekly newsletter to our subscription base and appears in print as a monthly section within Casino International.
The magazines remit is to focus on the latest innovations and innovators within the Gaming space, as well as bring in-depth interviews, product reviews and expert columns and opinion pieces to its readership.
Want to find out more about how we can support your business? Get in touch today!
Contact Information:
Ben Goodayle (Publication and Event Manager)
BGoodayle@datateam.co.uk | 01622 699123
Ronnie Drag (Account Executive)
RDrag@datateam.co.uk | 01622 699178
GGRAsia is a news website about the Asian sector of the casino industry. It takes its name from a phrase instantly recognisable to the casino investment community – ‘gross gaming revenue’. The website is open to all and includes daily updates of casino news from around the Asia Pacific region, plus feature and background stories. Subscribers that sign up for the free newsletter will receive a daily alert of the top stories.
iGamingCalendar.com is the free global hub for iGaming and gambling industry events worldwide. Discover trade shows, conferences, summits, training courses, and networking events, all in one place. Sign up for weekly event updates and download the free iOS App to stay connected with the industry year-round. https://www.igamingcalendar.com
Michael Charlton, Independent
Mike Charlton is a British business leader with more than 30 years’ experience building betting, gaming and lottery businesses across Asia-Pacific — from founding Ladbrokes’ first Asia office to leading Entain’s Asia-Pacific growth strategy for over a decade.
Across his career, Mike has taken products from concept to multi-million-dollar revenue and built government relationships at ministerial level in some of the region’s most complex regulatory markets — including projects spanning China, Vietnam, India, France, Russia, the Philippines, Japan and the USA. He served concurrently as Director across four Entain Group subsidiaries, combining commercial delivery with governance oversight throughout a career spent navigating the fast-changing world of Asian gaming regulation.
Since stepping down from Entain in 2025, Mike has relocated to Cambodia and now works as an independent strategic advisor, helping emerging technology and regulated-market businesses navigate commercial strategy, market entry and growth across the region.
A fluent traveller of the region’s boardrooms as much as its back-alleys, Mike holds Chinese language qualifications, a China Permanent Resident’s Card, and driving licences across three countries — proof that he doesn’t just talk about market entry, he lives it. Away from the desk, he’s a keen golfer (and former Chairman of the Beijing Golfers Club) and a long-distance trekker, always chasing the next challenging route, on the course or off it.
Mike brings three decades of frontline experience building betting and gaming businesses in some of the world’s toughest, most rewarding markets — insight shaped as much by boardrooms as by the ground-level realities of doing business across Asia.
Luís Mesquita de Melo, Partner, J.A. Pinto Ribeiro & Associados
Luis has a wealth of over 23 years of experience during which he assumed a broad range of legal roles, extending from teaching law to advisory positions at Governments highest level, senior corporate executive positions and private practice. He was Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Joint Company Secretary for Sands China Ltd. with a leading role in the development of the Las Vegas Sands Corp Group business opening the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel and the Four Seasons Macau, successfully listing Sands China Ltd in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and obtaining financing for the Group’s business in Macau in excess of USD$ 5 billion. He was a Government Lawyer for Macau Legislative Modernization Commission, legal Advisor to the President of the Macau Legislative Assembly and for the Minister of Economy of Portugal. As senior Executive with Sands China, for over five years, he developed an unique set of skills in all matters related to Gaming & Hospitality, Corporate, Banking & Finance and Listing Rules.
He was a Partner of MdME, a Macau based law firm, where he developed the firm’s Gaming & Hospitality practice providing services and advising gaming operators, gaming promoters, gaming equipment manufacturers at all levels of the gaming industry market in Macau and regionally in other jurisdictions.
He was Chief Legal Counsel for NagaCorp (HKEx 3918).
NagaCorp Ltd. is the largest hotel, gaming and leisure operator in Cambodia, and the Company has been listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”) since 2006. In fact, NagaCorp became the first company with operations in Cambodia to become a public listed entity, as well as the first gaming-related company traded on the Stock Exchange. Its flagship, NagaWorld, is Phnom Penh’s only integrated hotel-casino entertainment complex, under a 70-year casino licence that will run till 2065, as well as a 41-year monopoly within a 200km radius of Phnom Penh that expires in 2035.
Chief Legal Officer for Asian Coast Development Ltd.
Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd. (ACDL) is an international development company specializing in integrated resort destinations. ACDL, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Ho Tram Project Company Ltd, is the developer of the Ho Tram Strip, a group of integrated resorts to be located on more than 400 acres of land and more than two kilometers of pristine beach in Ho Tram, and approved in an Investment Certificate issued by the Government of Vietnam.
The Ho Tram Strip will ultimately comprise:
The Grand – Ho Tram Strip, our 1,100 room integrated resort
The Bluffs, our Greg Norman designed Championship golf course
General Counsel for Hoiana South Development Ltd. (“HASD”)
Hoiana Resort & Golf is Vietnam’s premier US $4 billion, 985-hectare luxury beach integrated resort standing as one of the largest integrated destination casinos in Southeast Asia. Operating under a foreigner-only gaming framework, the property features a major gaming floor with 140 tables, nearly 300 electronic machines [asgam], and an ultra-exclusive high-roller VIP Sky Casino. Its operational Phase 1 boasts over 1,200 luxury hotel keys [asgam], an award-winning Robert Trent Jones Jr. links golf course, and more than 20 dining venues along a 4-kilometer beachfront. Backed by international investors.
Awards and Recognitions
Chambers and Partners Asia 2014, General Business Law (Band 2): Luis Mesquita de Melo is widely recognised as “a true gaming specialist.” He brings to his work the especially notable advantage of having been an executive with a major gaming operator, giving him valuable insights into that business and the associated financial, regulatory and hospitality spheres.
Chambers and Partners, Asia-Pacific Region, Gaming & Gambling 2014 (Band 1): Luis Mesquita de Melo is considered one of the best gaming lawyers in Macau. Peers say: “He’s very strong in this area,” and praise his experience gained as a result of being former in-house counsel at Sands China. He has recently been advising clients outside of Macau, including those in Vietnam.
Chambers and Partners, Gaming & Gambling Global-wide (Band 3): Macau-based Luis Mesquita de Melo of MdME is well known for his gaming work and is described by peers as “an excellent lawyer.” He has over two decades of experience and has previously worked as general counsel for a gaming operator in Macau, working on its IPO and establishment of a resort in Macau.
Other Activities
Katrina Nepomuceno, Special Counsel, Gruba Law
Katrina de Lima Nepomuceno is Special Counsel at Gruba Law and has over two decades of experience in the Philippine gaming industry. She has worked extensively with key government institutions and regulators, including the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), and the Philippine Congress. Combining deep regulatory experience with expertise in corporate strategy and high-stakes M&A transactions, she offers practical insights into the legal, regulatory, and commercial considerations essential to succeeding in the Philippine gaming market.
Atty. Nepomuceno is a seasoned legal professional with over 25 years of experience in corporate law and regulatory compliance, and is a member of the Philippine Bar. She is widely recognised as one of the few legal practitioners in Southeast Asia with deep specialisation in gaming law. covering both land-based and internet gaming operations.
She previously served as Vice President for Legal, Corporate Secretary, and Compliance Officer of Leisure and Resorts World Corporation (now DigiPlus Interactive Corp.), a publicly listed gaming and leisure conglomerate in the Philippines. She also served as President of its subsidiary. AB Leisure Global. Inc. In these roles. she led corporate legal strategy. advised on regulatory compliance. and oversaw high-stakes negotiations involving mergers. acquisitions. and joint ventures. Her work regularly interfaced with key government regulators such as PAGCOR. CEZA, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), DENR, DAR, and the Philippine Reclamation Authority, as well as the Philippine Congress.
Atty. Nepomuceno was instrumental in crafting internet gaming policies for the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) and served for nearly two (2) decades as legal counsel to First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, a pioneer in Philippine online gaming licensing. Her contribution to the evolution of gaming regulation in the region has been recognised through speaking engagements at international gaming conferences in Macau. Singapore. the United States, and Europe.
In addition to her work in the gaming sector. Atty. Nepomuceno provides strategic legal counsel to local governments and has led key development projects. She advised the City of Bacolod on the Php2.1Billion Bacolod Super City Project, a major public-private partnership. She currently advises on the city’s flagship housing initiative, the Yuhum Housing Project, under the national 4PH program. Her government relations practice includes extensive experience in legislative engagement and multi-agency coordination.
David Carruthers, Principal & CEO, David Carruthers Consulting
David Carruthers: A Driven Leader, Accomplished Entrepreneur, and Transformative Business Consultant.
David Carruthers is a seasoned executive with an exceptional track record of success as a CEO, entrepreneur, and business consultant. His unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with his dynamic leadership style and proven ability to navigate complex challenges, has propelled him to the forefront of the business world.
A champion of innovation and transformation, a master of business strategy, he navigates global challenges with confidence, has a proven track record of accomplishment, a true visionary leader with a passion for excellence.
David’s boundless energy, proven ability to succeed, self-discipline, and infectious sense of humour set him apart. His unwavering commitment to excellence and his ability to inspire and motivate teams have earned him the respect and admiration of his peers.