AI startup wins big: OneHazel tackles iGaming integration
In a fast-moving world like iGaming, the speed of integration often determines who captures market share. Vendors rush to launch the latest games and marketing campaigns, but operators often face costly delays as they integrate new technologies into their platforms.
Speaking exclusively to SiGMA after his company’s recent win, Keith Zammit, founder and CEO of OneHazel, explained that his startup’s success lies in addressing one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: integration.
“Our startup is built on a real-world problem we’ve experienced ourselves as vendors and operators. Integrations are a problem, and we’re out here trying to solve that,” Zammit said.
Competitive landscape
This year, the iGaming sector is being shaped by AI-driven integration, regulatory shifts, and regional fragmentation. OneHazel enters a crowded but evolving field where established suppliers such as SOFTSWISS, Digitain, and Sportradar are investing heavily in AI. Asia’s $45.5 billion market underscores both opportunity and regulatory complexity, according to industry reports.
Solving integration gaps
Players demand the latest games, tools, and technologies. Yet integration delays often slow adoption. OneHazel’s solution: an AI agent team designed to streamline and accelerate vendor-operator connections. “We’ve been building our AI solution for over a year now. Our AI agent team bridges the gap, solving what we call the integration problem in gaming,” Zammit explained.
Navigating regulation
While the regulatory landscape remains divided in 2026, it is also tightening. In Europe, for instance, compliance is becoming stricter. Yet in Asia, it has remained mixed. Hubs like the Philippines are regulated, unlike Japan and China, where it has been banned. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to flourish its state-level licencing. Still, these complexities have led to integration solutions, such as OneHazel’s AI agents, that are crucial for helping operators stay compliant while scaling globally.
Additionally, operators face risks like bonus abuse, fake accounts, and payment fraud. AI-driven integration platforms can embed fraud detection into onboarding workflows, reducing exposure. There is also DDoS protection. Distributed denial-of-service attacks can cripple live dealer platforms. Integration agents often include traffic monitoring and rerouting protocols to maintain uptime.
Asia as a growth catalyst
The global iGaming market is booming, projected to grow from $110.8 billion in 2025 to $130.5 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 17.8 percent. Asia is emerging as a critical growth driver, though integration delays remain costly, according to media reports.
Zammit acknowledges Asia as the origin of OneHazel’s vision. At one event in Thailand, he recalled how his team realised that, while European and American operators had large integration teams, Asian markets faced resource limitations. Seeing that gap inspired OneHazel’s AI-driven approach.
“To achieve hyper growth within these sectors, the utilisation of AI teams is the easiest and best solution. Asia has been very kind to us,” Zammit noted.
Industry data reinforces this momentum: over 56 percent of iGaming companies list AI integration as a top-three priority, while 5G has reduced media latency to 44 milliseconds, which is critical for live dealer and in-play wagering.
Milestones ahead
Looking forward, OneHazel’s immediate priority is fundraising to expand beyond Europe and into global markets. Zammit emphasises the company’s ambition to become the integration layer for the iGaming industry. “We want to be the last integration that any iGaming company will ever build,” he said.
Emerging markets such as Brazil and Finland are opening competitive licencing, creating new opportunities for integration platforms, according to Reuters.
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