Tugi Tark Unveils 2026 Whitepaper on AI iGaming Customer Support Economics

(AsiaGameHub) –   Tugi Tark unveiled its 2026 whitepaper titled The economics of AI-powered iGaming customer support, which examines the cost structure of player support in online gambling and explores how artificial intelligence could transform operator and BPO unit economics.

The report draws on Eurostat’s 2024 labour cost data, publicly available AI chatbot performance benchmarks, independent research on iGaming player behaviour, and verified operational insights from Tugi Tark’s own deployments. Using the company’s stated pricing model—EUR 0.15 per ticket handled by AI—it compares these figures with the fully loaded human support costs in Romania and Bulgaria, which range between EUR 1.73 and EUR 1.88 per ticket.

According to the whitepaper, a blended AI-and-human support model operating at a “realistic 70% AI containment rate” could lower average per-ticket costs to approximately EUR 0.67. This represents an estimated 64% reduction compared to a fully human-based support system costing EUR 1.88 per ticket. The analysis further suggests operators could achieve total support expenditure reductions of between 55% and 75%. Additionally, the report highlights that AI enables operators to manage surges in support volume during major sporting events without delays associated with hiring or training new staff.

Harpo Lilja, founder and CEO of Tugi Tark, commented: “By 2026, the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI is costing operators millions in avoidable overhead. We are not merely discussing chatbots; we are addressing a fundamental transformation in the unit economics underpinning player retention.”

Tugi Tark’s models also connect support efficiency to customer retention. The whitepaper notes that payment issues represent 52% of all support tickets and asserts that slow response times contribute significantly to player churn. It claims that improving churn rates by just 0.5 percentage points through immediate, round-the-clock resolution could help retain an additional 500 players monthly for a mid-sized operator. Assuming an average lifetime value of EUR 400 per player, Tugi Tark estimates this would translate into EUR 200,000 in retained annual revenue.

The whitepaper also details how Tugi Tark’s specialized AI agents are engineered to meet regulatory obligations, including responsible gambling escalation protocols, KYC and AML documentation processes, and adherence to data sovereignty rules such as GDPR and local licensing requirements. The full report is accessible at https://www.tugitark.com/cxreport2026.