Crypto casino and sportsbook BetHog will cease operations on July 31st as its founders redirect the company’s resources towards Sentient Studios, its business supplying AI-powered dealers to gaming operators.
BetHog co-founder and chief executive Nigel Eccles told AGB exclusively that the casino had performed broadly in line with expectations but would have required substantially more investment to become sustainably profitable.
“The main factor is really the success of Sentient Studios,” Eccles said. “We have significant pull from operators for our AI dealer products and we think it is a market we can really win.”
“It’s going to be a really big market and therefore it makes sense to focus all of our resources on it,” he added.
Eccles said the closure was not primarily linked to the platform’s financial performance, customer acquisition costs or regulatory challenges.
“It was performing fairly in line with expectations, but it would have needed a lot more investment to become sustainably profitable,” he said. “When we looked at that and the opportunity with Sentient, it was an easy decision.”
BetHog was launched in November 2024 by Eccles and Rob Jones, both co-founders of US sports betting operator FanDuel. The Anjouan-licensed platform focused exclusively on cryptocurrency payments, initially targeting markets including Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa.
In an interview with AGB in January 2025, Eccles argued that gambling could become an entry point into cryptocurrency for a new generation of users.
The latest move follows a $10 million Series A funding round in April, which brought the company’s total funding to $16 million. Part of the proceeds was earmarked for developing Sentient Studios’ AI dealer products and accelerating their commercial rollout.
BetHog’s product development team had already shifted almost entirely to the AI dealer operation, meaning the closure will result in limited personnel changes. Eccles said around three employees in the marketing department would be affected.
Existing customers have been given several weeks to withdraw their balances before the July 31st shutdown. “We aren’t expecting there to be any issues there,” Eccles said.
Asian operators show interest
Eccles declined to identify operators currently testing or preparing to license Sentient’s AI dealer products, saying the company was not yet in a position to disclose its partner pipeline.
However, he described the pipeline as “incredibly promising” and said testing with end users had also produced positive results. The timetable for commercial launches will depend partly on securing the required licenses and compliance approvals.
Sentient is currently focusing on Europe, Latin America and Canada, but Eccles said the company had also received “significant interest from a number of Asian operators”.
Its AI dealers currently support 15 languages, with that number expected to rise to 74 within several months. Sentient recently launched Tong, its second dealer and first native Chinese-speaking character.
Interest in virtual and AI-powered casino hosts is increasing as suppliers seek alternatives to traditional live-dealer studios, which require physical facilities and round-the-clock staffing. The technology is being developed to offer multilingual dealers, customized digital characters and tables that can operate continuously.
Sentient is not alone in pursuing the segment. Playgon Games and Digital Nation Entertainment have also agreed to develop an AI dealer platform, while Playtech has introduced hybrid products combining automated components with features associated with live casino games.
Despite growing supplier interest, regulatory approvals, game certification and player acceptance remain important tests for the wider adoption of AI dealers.
