Regulated platforms • Revenue-critical systems • Stability at scale • Advanced AI modelling • Innovation

Affable Scotsman logoStabilising and scaling regulated betting and finance platforms so boards, regulators, and customers trust the tech.

Introducing Luke Campbell - CTO-level consultant with 15+ years across fintech, gaming & sports betting technology — including platforms processing millions of transactions(*) per day (PokerStars), millions of transactions(*) per week (Racing & Sports), and being a senior part of the team that launched the Isle of Man’s first ever digital bank in regulated environments.

What an initial engagement looks like
  1. Initial Scope (20 minutes)
  2. Exec diagnostic (90 minutes)
  3. 10-day risk & operating model assessment
  4. 30–90 day stabilisation / optimisation plan with milestones
Let's meet
Assess Plan Execute

What you get
  • Platform stabilisation: Reduced incident load, faster MTTR (Mean Time To Recovery), and removal of key-person dependencies.
  • Operational maturity: Production-grade on-call models, support tiers, runbooks, incident governance, and change control.
  • Governance & audit readiness: Clear RACI (Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed), risk registers, board-facing reporting, and security posture alignment.
  • Stability → acceleration: Stabilise first, then safely increase delivery throughput and innovation.
  • Multi-stakeholder delivery: Proven leadership across sportsbook, fintech, media, and B2B platforms.
  • Direct senior experience: You get hands-on access to my experience in regulated gaming and complex platforms, with specialist depth added only where it materially improves outcomes.
46
responsible for 46 development and operations staff across
AU + Sri Lanka (Racing & Sports)
AUD $21m
ASX-listed revenue
(FY24–FY25) +31% YoY
Hybrid Cloud Cost Optimisation
AWS → Oracle hybrid strategy, board-approved. Six-figure savings projected.
Innovation at scale
Rolled out innovative data solutions to scale platforms.
AI In Your Business
Leveraged AI/ML to optimise platform performance and profitability.
Sensible Guardrails
Just enough process to manage risk and compliance, without killing speed or innovation.
Incident MgmtGovernanceSLO / SRE Cloud cost controlPlatform resilience Regulated opsDue diligence

Strategy and Direction

Let's meet Strategic Advisory Services

Many leadership teams know their market is changing faster than their organisation can comfortably respond. Signals are noisy, competitors are experimenting, regulation keeps shifting, and it’s increasingly hard to separate durable trends from short-term distractions. The result is often tactical motion without strategic clarity: too many initiatives, not enough conviction, and no shared view of what really matters over the next three to five years.

I work with executives and boards to cut through that noise. Together, we turn market uncertainty into a small number of clear, testable strategic choices: where to compete, where not to, what to invest in, and what to simplify or exit. The goal isn’t a glossy strategy deck—it’s a practical, resilient direction that aligns technology, operating models, and capital allocation around a long-term plan the organisation can actually execute.

How I help

Same problems, repeatable pattern: reduce risk, professionalise operations, then safely accelerate delivery.

Stabilise

Make production boring again

Lower incidents, improve MTTR (Mean Time to Recovery), and introduce operational discipline that actually sticks.

RCASupport tiersRunbooks
Govern

Board / regulator confidence

Translate technical reality into business risk with RACI, risk registers, escalation, and reporting.

RACIAuditRisk
Deliver

Innovation with measurable outcomes

Stable foundations + clear ownership so teams can ship value faster without increasing fragility.

PredictabilitySLOsCost
Standardise

Operating Models and Delivery Patterns

I also help leadership teams shape repeatable operating models and delivery patterns across multiple products or business units.

ModelsSLOsStandards
Engage

How I work with leadership teams

  1. Exec diagnostic (90 minutes)
  2. 10-day risk & operating model assessment
  3. 30–90 day stabilisation / optimisation plan with milestones

AssessPlanExecute
Direct Connection

No middlemen. No dilution.

You work directly with me, not a delivery pyramid. I stay accountable for outcomes, stay close to production, and only bring in additional specialist depth when genuinely required.

DirectExpert AdviceStrategy

Case studies

Problem → approach → measurable impact.

NFL simulation & pricing platform

Real-time • Production
Problem Broadcaster needed higher-quality, telemetry-driven odds and derived markets from live NFL data feeds.
What I did Built AI powered models based on 20+ years of previous real NFL data. This powered prediction engines, APIs, pipelines, and cloud-native services with explicit SLOs (Service Level Objective), observability, and cost controls.
Impact Launched live in-play markets and probabilities on ESPN via Adrenaline’s integration during the 2025 NFL season, producing clear revenue streams and obvious opportunities to expand into Live Sports Betting.
Example Press Release: ESPN to debut MNF Playbook with next-gen stats Dec. 22, an NFL data cast aimed at avid fans complements Monday Night Football and ESPN NFL postseason slate

Screenshot of NFL play
AWSTypeScriptPython AI / ML toolingLive data

Virtual American football

Simulation • Data • Betting platform
Problem The client needed a realistic virtual American football sports game, but lacked the knowledge and underlying data to build it.
What I did Built an AI powered simulation platform using real NFL and college football data, running 2M+ simulated games to generate realistic outcomes and telemetry using 20+ years of historical data and AI model based prediction, packaged for straightforward integration into the client’s product. This product generated 50+ betting markets based on these simulations, creating a rich experience for the user.
Impact Built a virtual American football game scheduled for US casino launch in 2026, proving the company’s predictive models were strong enough to support a move into live events data.
Example virtual football game screenshot
Simulation AI / ML tooling Data engineering 2M+ games Integration US casinos

Regulated wagering ops maturity uplift

Ops • Governance
Problem Production incidents + unclear ownership. Audit expectations rising. Delivery slowed by ambiguity.
What I did Introduced RACI (Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed), incident governance, on-call tiers, escalation, and exec-facing risk reporting.
Impact ↓ incident MTTR (Mean Time To Resolution) by 90% • ↑ delivery predictability • Gave execs predictable delivery and audit-ready operational reporting.
Incident MgmtSupport modelRisk reporting

Embedded betting launch (UK)

Delivery • Client alignment
Problem Pre-launch issues threatened go-live of a new embedded sportsbook product.
What I did Took go/no-go ownership with client, froze scope, re-cut the critical path, and reset launch criteria with exec sponsors.
Impact Unblocked a strategic product launch, enabling UK market entry and unlocking new revenue streams, while repositioning the business toward an out-of-the-box sportsbook platform offering.
Example Screenshot of racing app
Program delivery Stakeholder alignment Go-live readiness Regulated market

Smarter pricing, higher margins

Real-time • Betting
Problem Operators needed to optimise take (hold) without degrading the customer experience. Traditional pricing applied a largely static vig across markets, ignoring real bettor behaviour—leaving money on the table in some markets and reducing competitiveness in others.
What I did Designed and delivered an advanced AI-based pricing platform using real-time behavioural and market data to predict bettor preferences and dynamically optimise vig, integrating via APIs into live, risk-controlled trading workflows.
Impact In controlled trials, the system delivered material improvements in operator take versus a typical 10% hold.
Example pricing dashboard screenshot
Odds Markets AI / ML tooling Improved Profit

Restoring cloud cost predictability at scale

Costs • Hosting
Problem High cost of AWS hosting.
What I did Reviewed AWS usage, identified cost-saving opportunities, and implemented optimisations that reduced hosting costs by 50%.
Impact ~95% reduction in peak spikes over 18 months (from ~20k to ~1–2k). Consistent 50% reduction in monthly spend over 2 years. Restored cost predictability, removed growth constraint, improved margins.
AWS Cost alignment

Experience summary

Selected leadership roles and consulting-relevant engagements delivering regulated, revenue-critical platforms.

Chief Technology Officer — Racing and Sports

2025–Now • AU / International

Executive owner of engineering, cloud, security, and production operations in a multi-jurisdictional regulated wagering business.

  • ASX listed company with revenues of AUD $21m, growing 31% YoY (FY24–FY25).
  • Led ~46 staff across AU + Sri Lanka; accountable for governance, risk management and IT budget.
  • Launched BetBridge Embedded Betting Solution into UK market; stabilised white-label Wagering360 and onboarded new clients.
  • Reduced managed trading software performance incidents from ~10/week to zero over the last 2 months.
  • Spearheaded migration from AWS to Oracle in hybrid cloud, projected for significant six figure savings over three years.

Chief Technology Officer — Adrenaline

2023–2025 • US / UK

Led technology, data, and product strategy for NFL-centric sports betting products in regulated US markets.

  • Launched NFL live probabilities on ESPN via Adrenaline’s integration during the 2025 NFL season.
  • Built next-gen odds/personalisation products contributing to >10% uplift in GGR during time-limited trials.
  • Cloud-native services in AWS using TypeScript/Python; leveraged ML tooling (e.g., SageMaker).
  • Participated in fundraising and investor discussions supporting product expansion.

IT & Development Manager — Capital International Bank

2021–2023 • Isle of Man

Senior hands-on leader delivering secure, regulated banking platforms for e-gaming and corporate services clients.

  • The first banking license granted for 20+ years on the Isle of Man.
  • Launch of first ever digital bank on the Isle of Man.
  • Reduced operational issues by 25% in one year through proactive investigation and platform stabilisation.
  • Delivered FATCA/AML reporting, risk pre-screening tooling, and platform enhancements.
  • Stack: Laravel/PHP, .NET, Angular, Azure/Kubernetes.

Director & Head of Sports Operations — Champion Tech

2018–2020 • Isle of Man / International

Co-founder exec for a B2B sportsbook provider: product delivery, certification, and live operations.

  • Built and launched Asia-facing SportsBook in a Tier 1 regulated environment.
  • Built internal operational tooling: real-time bet monitoring and regulatory reporting.
  • Close collaboration with regulators and outsourced service providers.

CMS Infrastructure & Development Manager — PokerStars

2010–2016 • Isle of Man / International

Led global CMS platform delivery across 8 licences and 26 languages across poker/casino/sportsbook/live events.

  • Designed localisation tooling reducing translation/update cost of ownership by $1.5m over 3 years.
  • Managed websites across 26 languages and 8+ regulated jurisdictions.
  • Supported major launches and migrations across regulated markets at internet scale.

Writing

Selected writing on operations, leadership, and scaling regulated systems.

Operations

Lessons for engineering leaders

Patterns I’ve seen (and made mistakes with) when scaling teams and production systems.

Incident mgmtTech debtGovernance

Start a conversation

If you’re dealing with operational fragility, incident load, delivery unpredictability, audit pressure, or cloud cost blowouts — happy to talk.

Get in touch

Advisory • due diligence • platform stabilisation • incident / ops maturity programs.

Email LinkedIn Book 30 mins (Calendly)

Best-fit engagements

  • Regulated businesses in gambling or fintech that need stability at scale, while still driving innovation and measurable business value.
  • Founder-to-operator transitions; PE-backed scale-ups; pre-exit stabilisation.
  • Operational credibility: uptime, compliance, incident discipline, and clear accountability.
  • Stability first, then growth: remove chaos, establish control, then accelerate.
GamingSports bettingFintechPayments