House Edge: Andrii Savyntsev on AI, poker and why a flush still wins
House Edge is iGaming Republic’s new interview series for the people shaping casino gaming right now, the product leads, studio heads and game designers whose decisions rarely make it into a press release.
Every guest answers the same set of questions, which means you get something most interviews don’t: a way to compare how different people, at different companies, are actually thinking about the same problems. No PR polish, no pitch deck, just a straight read on where casino is headed, one guest at a time.
In this edition, we sat down with Andrii Savyntsev, Product Owner Team Lead at ICONIC21. He talks about AI-powered dealers becoming part of the product itself, a new kind of experience somewhere between instant RNG and live casino, and the one rule that shaped Gravity Poker. He also explains why the best advice he has ever been given is too valuable to give away for free.
ICONIC21 supplies live casino, slots, virtual and instant games to operators in regulated markets. Formerly known as BETER Live, it rebranded in September 2024 after separating from the BETER Group. The company runs its main studio in Bucharest and has announced a studio and office of more than 1,400 square metres in Vilnius, set to become its second European production base.
It holds a Malta Gaming Authority licence and is known for its Gravity series, which adds multipliers and side bets to classic table games, and for dedicated branded studios, including an 18-table studio built for Stake in 2026.
iGaming Republic: What’s the most interesting thing you’re seeing happen in the casino game space right now?
Andrii Savyntsev: For me, it’s the point we’re reaching with AI, where it is starting to become part of the product itself rather than just a tool used to build it. AI-powered dealers are an obvious example. We are already seeing RNG games where players can have a real conversation with the dealer, and I think that’s only the beginning.
“It’s the point we’re reaching with AI, where it is starting to become part of the product itself rather than just a tool used to build it.”
Andrii Savyntsev, Product Owner Team Lead at ICONIC21
What interests me most is where this could lead next. Once AI can respond to players in real time, adapt to them and influence parts of the experience, the boundaries between the traditional casino categories start to become less obvious. That’s when it gets really interesting from a product perspective.
iGR: Name one thing about casino you’d put money on being true in two years.
AS: I’m usually careful with predictions in this industry, but I’d put money on the boundaries between the traditional casino categories becoming much less clear. I think we’ll start seeing a new type of experience somewhere between instant RNG and live casino, with AI playing an important role in making it possible.
The really interesting step will be personalisation. Instead of every player entering exactly the same game, AI could allow parts of the experience to be created or adapted almost instantly around the individual player – the dealer, the environment, the interaction style or eventually even elements of the game itself.
I don’t think that means players will suddenly become game designers, but I do think casino products will become much more dynamic and personal than the fixed experiences we have today.
“I do think casino products will become much more dynamic and personal than the fixed experiences we have today.”
Andrii Savyntsev, Product Owner Team Lead at ICONIC21
iGR: Where’s the line between innovation and gimmick in casino games?
AS: Players usually draw that line for us. You can call something innovative in a presentation, but if players try it once and don’t see a reason to come back, it was probably a gimmick. Novelty can create attention; it doesn’t necessarily create a good product.
“You can call something innovative in a presentation, but if players try it once and don’t see a reason to come back, it was probably a gimmick.”
Andrii Savyntsev, Product Owner Team Lead at ICONIC21
For me, the real test is whether the mechanic still adds value once the novelty wears off. Does it make the decisions more interesting? Does it create a better experience? Does the player actually want to use it again?
If the answer is yes, you probably have innovation. If the main selling point is simply that nobody has done it before, I’d be much more sceptical.
iGR: What’s a common misconception people have about live casino?
AS: One misconception is that live casino is simply a traditional table game with a camera and a human dealer in front of it. From the outside it can look simple, but behind every table there is a huge amount of product and technical work – game logic, streaming, UI, studio operations, dealer procedures and dozens of small decisions that have to work together in real time.
That complexity is also what makes live casino interesting to build. The player should never have to think about most of it. When everything works properly, the experience feels effortless, even though there is an enormous amount happening behind the scenes to make it feel that way.
iGR: What’s a recent project you’re proud of, and what made it work?
AS: Gravity Poker is probably the most recent example. Poker is one of those games where players have very strong expectations about how the game should work, so adding something new without interfering with that familiarity was a real design challenge.
What made the project work was that we established the boundary early. We could add Gravity multipliers and create a new layer around selected side-bet outcomes, but the hierarchy of poker hands had to remain untouched. A flush still beats a straight; a full house still beats a flush.
“A flush still beats a straight; a full house still beats a flush.”
Andrii Savyntsev, Product Owner Team Lead at ICONIC21
That sounds simple, but having that principle gave the whole team a clear direction. I’m proud of the result because it feels new without needing to stop feeling like poker.
iGR: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in this industry?
AS: I’m definitely not giving away the best advice I’ve ever received for free – some information is too valuable for that.
But one lesson that has stayed with me is to pay attention to trends without automatically believing them. This industry moves quickly, and once an idea becomes fashionable, suddenly everyone has data, predictions and a reason why you need to follow it immediately.
It’s important to understand what is genuinely changing player behaviour and what is simply momentum around the latest topic. Trends matter, but knowing when not to follow one can be just as valuable as spotting one early.
“Trends matter, but knowing when not to follow one can be just as valuable as spotting one early.”
Andrii Savyntsev, Product Owner Team Lead at ICONIC21
Read the previous House Edge interview with Tomasz Kowalik, Product Director at Yggdrasil Gaming.
About the author
Bianca Máthe
Bianca Máthe is Publisher of iGaming Republic. She spent close to a decade on the supplier side of iGaming, working across the sector's core verticals: platform and player-engagement technology and crypto payments. That mix gave her a working knowledge of how operators, suppliers and payment providers actually run. In 2025 she started a media project, bringing that operational grounding to her editorial work. Her output includes interviews with high-profile iGaming executives, original reports, and in-depth features covering licensing, M&A, and the operators and suppliers shaping the sector. Based in Malta, she spends much of her time getting closer to emerging sectors like prediction markets, tracking how they're developing before the rest of the industry catches up.
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