Lena Yasir, BetConstruct AI: “AI is now at the heart of how we build our products” 

BetConstruct AI’s CEO discusses the company’s AI-first strategy, the technologies it is showcasing at iGB L!VE London 2026, the growing role of prediction markets and omnichannel engagement, and the key challenges operators will face in retaining players beyond the FIFA World Cup.

Exclusive interview.- Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the igaming industry, with operators increasingly looking for technologies that improve personalisation, automate decision-making and strengthen player retention. At iGB L!VE London 2026, BetConstruct AI is presenting a portfolio of AI-powered products designed to help operators address those priorities while expanding into new markets and player segments.

In this exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Lena Yasir, CEO of BetConstruct AI, explains how the company’s latest innovations are responding to evolving operator demands. She also shares her perspective on the industry’s biggest technology trends and the challenges of converting the surge in player activity generated by the FIFA World Cup into sustainable long-term growth.

What are the main AI-driven products and innovations that BetConstruct AI will be presenting at iGB L!VE London 2026, and how do they reflect the company’s current strategic priorities?

Our presence at iGB L!VE London 2026 is focused on helping operators make deeper use of modern tools — moving from rigid setups to smarter, fully personalised player experiences. AI is advancing rapidly across the gambling industry, driving personalisation, retention, and automated risk detection, and now sits at the core of how operators engage and protect their players.

The central pillar of our showcase is our AI Suite. Betting Mate AI, our latest addition, is a conversational sportsbook co-pilot offering personalised bet suggestions, goal-oriented accumulators, and natural-language stats exploration. CRM AI predicts churn 14 days in advance and automates personalised journeys across 300+ behavioural filters. Umbrella AI unifies Sportsbook and Casino risk, AML, and Responsible Gambling with real-time automated decisions. Our AI Game Recommendation System delivers hyper-relevant suggestions, and our BetChain AI is a front-end platform designed to redefine player engagement through deep personalisation and crypto-centric innovation.

A major highlight of this year’s expo is our standalone prediction market product, Eventbook. Eventbook allows operators to engage fresh demographics by enabling players to wager “Yes or No” on real-world outcomes, from political races to daily reality micro-markets. This product line is heavily backed by our landmark collaboration with ADI Predictstreet, FIFA’s Official Prediction Market Partner. As our Co-Founder Vigen Badalyan recently emphasised, this collaboration is a massive step forward in expanding our ecosystem’s capabilities. By integrating ADI Predictstreet’s innovative technology alongside premium match streaming rights, we are empowering our international partners to boost player retention through secure, interactive, next-generation fan engagement.

“Our presence at iGB L!VE London 2026 is focused on helping operators make deeper use of modern tools.”
Lena Yasir, CEO at BetConstruct AI.

What kind of partnerships, business opportunities and market feedback do you expect to gain from iGB Live 2026?

We are on the floor to drive high-velocity business growth with commercial offers built exclusively around the expo. Our iGB Turnkey Offer — “One stand. One deal. One hour. Your platform is live.” — was an expo-only opportunity allowing operators to walk up to our stand and go live with a fully customised, crypto-enabled sportsbook and casino platform in under an hour, a demonstration of just how fast and frictionless launching with BetConstruct AI can be.

The spotlight, however, is on our 2026 Cup Final Strategic Discounts. This campaign is designed to remove the traditional barriers to market entry: significantly reduced setup costs, extra advantages for operators entering LatAm and Africa, and free access to our core suite during the first months of operation — letting new partners capture the World Cup momentum and build their player base before committing to full costs.

We also launched Pure & Free — an exclusive offer for the Brazilian market, running until year-end. Operators migrating to our platform receive our premium Sportsbook at zero cost, with full activation of the core suite including Betting Mate, Eventbook, and ADI Predictstreet — and 100 per cent of the Sportsbook profit stays with them.

AI is increasingly transforming personalisation, retention and operational efficiency in gaming. How is BetConstruct AI leveraging AI to enhance both player experiences and operator performance?

AI is now at the heart of how we build our products — every new solution comes with intelligence built in from the start. Instead of looking back at what already happened, our tools help operators see what’s coming next and act on it. Our AI Suite makes this possible through engines that work together and plug directly into operators’ everyday workflows:

• CRM AI: AI-powered player intelligence that predicts churn and uncovers potential VIPs, helping you power smarter marketing campaigns with forward-looking insights.
• Umbrella AI: A unified risk management platform that brings together Sportsbook, Casino, AML, and Responsible Gambling tools to help you detect fraud, assess player risk, and prevent losses in real time.
  
• AI Game Recommendation System: A recommendation engine that analyses player behaviour and game attributes across your entire casino library to deliver personalised game suggestions, increasing engagement, turnover, and GGR.
  
• Betting Mate AI: An AI-powered Sportsbook companion that analyses player activity to deliver highly relevant suggestions, helping turn passive searching into informed betting decisions.
  
• BetChain AI: A crypto-oriented front-end platform that delivers hyper-personalised player journeys across Sportsbook, Casino, Esports, and Live Casino, featuring crypto-optimised UX, dynamic personalisation, and seamless multi-vertical integration for maximum retention and turnover.

Several of BetConstruct AI’s recent solutions have focused on automation, analytics and omnichannel integration. Which products have seen the strongest market reception so far, and what does that say about current operator needs?

Two products stand out. The first is Affigates Affiliate Ecosystem. Rather than another standalone program, it’s the industry’s first all-in-one affiliate ecosystem, uniting software, management, and network in a single platform, with AI-driven scoring matching affiliates to the best-suited operators. Since its full launch in 2025, it already supports 700+ brands and 7,000+ vetted affiliates worldwide.

The second is Eventbook, our answer to the global rise of prediction markets. Its Yes/No format on real-world events — politics, entertainment, daily life — engages a demographic that doesn’t follow traditional sports, and because everyday life is the content, there’s always a new market driving daily engagement and community-led retention.

The traction of both proves the same point: operators want ready ecosystems, not fragmented tools — automated systems that cut technical overhead and scale engagement.

With the launch of the Retail Jackpot Engine for Sportsbook, BetConstruct AI is exploring new ways to enhance engagement in land-based betting environments. How important do you believe retail innovation remains in today’s increasingly digital gaming landscape, and what opportunities do you see for further development in this vertical?

Retail remains vital, but static betshops are a thing of the past—they require a technological heartbeat. True retail growth relies entirely on 360-degree omnichannel integration that unifies terminal UIs, fixed counters, and mobile-companion tools.

Our Retail Jackpot Engine drives frontline excitement by auto-funding customisable, operator-branded jackpot pools right from sportsbook activity volume. The real future opportunity lies in transforming anonymous footfall into traceable customer relationships. By utilising systems like LOYA, we allow players to scan physical tickets, build historical data profiles, and redeem loyalty points natively, giving land-based spaces a modern digital edge.

“Retail remains vital, but static betshops are a thing of the past.”
Lena Yasir, CEO at BetConstruct AI.

What are the most important trends shaping the global igaming and betting technology landscape today, and which challenges do you believe operators will need to address most urgently in the second half of 2026?

The defining trend right now is the massive overlap between igaming and social media communities. Players actively want to share bet slips, stream their gameplay, and debate micro-markets inside the platform—which is why Vivaro.me and Eventbook are setting the standard for contemporary user engagement.

As we cross into the second half of 2026, the most urgent challenge for operators is maintaining the massive player volume generated by the World Cup and converting it into long-term retention rather than post-event churn. Operators cannot afford to give players a basic, static fixture list. They need dedicated tournament destinations. This is why we are heavily pushing Bet on League, our live World Cup hub deployed instantly via iframe. By integrating live match data, real-time group standings, and interactive polling modules directly next to the betting action, we help partners cultivate a highly active user base. Giving players an immersive experience right now is how operators will secure sustained profitability into 2027.