Raphie + BetSaracen: From Human-Built Support to AI Automation

We built BetSaracen's support operation from the ground up in 2022. Today it's one of the most mature AI-driven support deployments live in a regulated North American sports-betting market.

When BetSaracen prepared to launch its Arkansas sportsbook in 2022, it needed a partner who could build CX and payments operations from zero – fast, and integrated directly into its Amelco platform. We took ownership of that build from day one: recruiting and training a dedicated team of agents and payments specialists with both iGaming and financial-operations experience, and standing up 24/7 coverage within weeks across account issues, promotions, and payment requests. Alongside support, we built a dedicated payments and fraud function to manage withdrawals, chargebacks, and AML/KYC checks.

That CS build became the foundation. What we did with AI on top of it is the real story.

Rather than automating broadly from day one, we introduced AI support gradually – starting with the ticket categories fastest and safest to automate, and expanding coverage only as the model proved itself against real player outcomes. Today, roughly 50% of BetSaracen's ticket volume is resolved end-to-end through AI automation, with additional categories being integrated on an ongoing basis.

Four years on, here's where things stand:

• Launched full CX and payments operations in weeks, not months, at market entry

• Automating approximately 50% of ticket volume end-to-end, with ongoing expansion into new categories

• 24/7 player support maintained since launch

• Player satisfaction sustained above 90%

• Lower cost-to-serve through automation, without compromising resolution quality

As Justin Heath, Co-founder and CEO at Raphie, put it: "BetSaracen is proof of what happens when CX is built as core infrastructure from day one, not layered on after launch. Once that foundation is right, everything else follows naturally, including AI support automation. We built the operation, understood it deeply, and automation became the next logical step once we knew exactly where it could help without costing players anything. That's what's kept satisfaction above 90%."

Neal Atkinson, Senior Director of Sportsbook at BetSaracen, has been generous in describing what the partnership has meant on their side: "Raphie has been a valuable partner of ours, providing our BetSaracen customers with excellent support. Their focus on iGaming sportsbook operations and experience working directly with PAMs and ticketing systems have played a crucial role in enhancing player experience and operational efficiency, solidifying BetSaracen's position as market leader in Arkansas."

If you want the full breakdown of how this partnership came together, our BetSaracen case study walks through the details.

The story is getting picked up

• OnlyiGaming: Raphie and BetSaracen Partnership

• NEXT.io: How a Customer Support Team Became a Fully Automated One

Four years in, BetSaracen remains the clearest example of what we believe in: support built as real infrastructure, automated only once it's earned that trust.

Want to see what a partnership built this way looks like for your platform?