AI Turns iGaming Customer Support into a Profit Center: Interview with Harpo Lilja

AI turns iGaming support into a revenue driver: insights from Harpo Lilja, CEO of Tugi Tark

Support leaders are moving from firefighting tickets to building profit engines. In iGaming, AI agents don't replace humans; they multiply their impact. Human agents become trainers, quality controllers, and closers-while AI handles the repetitive work and opens space for revenue moments.

From cost center to monetisation channel

AI delivers fast, consistent responses at any hour. According to Harpo Lilja, AI can independently resolve around 60% of tickets-and with deeper integration, clear more than 80% (think automatic bonuses or KYC checks). Cost per AI-handled ticket ranges roughly from USD $0.20 to $3, compared to USD $5 to $15 for human-handled tickets, depending on location.

Here's the shift: while resolving issues, AI can surface relevant offers. If a player asks about shipping, it can present premium delivery options. If a user asks about account limits, it can suggest VIP tiers. Support becomes a profit path without feeling pushy-because the offer is tied to the intent of the conversation.

What this means for support leaders

• Map your top 50 intents by volume and value. Automate the top 10 that drive the highest deflection or revenue impact.
• Embed contextual offers into high-intent flows (shipping, deposits, withdrawals, VIP eligibility).
• Define clear AI-to-human handoffs for edge cases, sensitive issues, and VIP accounts.
• Track cost per resolution, CSAT by channel, deflection rate, and revenue per conversation.
• Set a weekly training loop: review transcripts, retrain prompts/policies, and update offer logic.

Personalisation at scale across markets

Harpo notes that Tugi Tark's agents can operate across 250+ languages and be configured per country or region. For Latin America, the system adapts tone and expressions so a player in Colombia hears something different than a player in Argentina. Human trainers set tone of voice, monitor feedback, and refine answers continuously.

Signals like IP, account language, and session behaviour help pick the right variant. Real-time behaviour matters too: if a player lingers on a deposit page, AI can open a chat and offer help or provide a smarter cross-sell aligned with what the player is trying to do.

Proactive automation reduces churn

Reactive support waits for tickets. Proactive support fixes problems before a player leaves. Harpo gives a clear example: when a deposit fails, the payment system triggers an API call to the AI. The AI opens a chat instantly, explains the error, and guides the player to resolve it-no waiting, no guessing, less churn.

You can apply the same pattern across flows: KYC document issues, bonus eligibility, withdrawal delays, or stuck verifications. The principle is simple-turn system errors and hesitation signals into immediate assistance.

Compliance and complete traceability

Compliance pressure is rising across iGaming, and AI systems need audit-grade visibility. Harpo highlights event sourcing: every change is stored as an event, so you get a lossless history of what happened and when. That's useful for both player satisfaction analysis and regulator requests.

If you're new to event sourcing, this overview by Martin Fowler is a helpful starting point: Event Sourcing. For data protection guidance, review the EU's official rules here: EU data protection rules.

The evolving role of human agents

As AI absorbs routine tickets, human agents move up the value chain. They train models, validate sensitive decisions, manage VIP conversations, and close complex cases. The result is faster resolutions, more consistent quality, and better use of human judgment where it matters.

VIP retention: what's next

Speed and timing are everything for high-value players. With real-time behaviour analysis, AI can suggest the right offer at the right moment-before it expires or loses relevance. In part two, we'll dig into how next-generation AI agents can anchor VIP management and retention strategies globally.

Quick start checklist

• Identify top deflection opportunities and automate with guardrails.
• Instrument proactive triggers for deposits, withdrawals, KYC, and bonus flows.
• Localise tone and offers per region; track CSAT and conversion by market.
• Enable full audit trails and role-based review for compliance.
• Run weekly transcript reviews to iterate training and policy rules.

Resources for support teams

Want structured training for your team? Explore role-based programs: AI courses by job. Or scan the latest options for AI in customer operations: Latest AI courses.

This article was first published in Spanish on 1 October 2025.

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