PROFILE WHO’S WHO:
Betdigital’s CEO & Legal Counsel
This month: Heath Samples FAVOURITE Band: Johnny Cash
When did you first get involved with the gaming industry? In 1995 I’d seen an advert for a position at an operating company which supplied 60,000 gaming machines to the UK pub sector. It offered a varied role including legal, product and management so the seed was sown.
What attracted you to this sector? The constant evolution of the sector was the first element. The second was that it drew on all my skills I’d gained outside of the business and I felt suddenly at home working within it.
What were you doing prior to the gaming industry? I was a Fighter Controller in the Royal Air Force and Lieutenant in The Green Howards. My Squadron/Battalion served in the first Iraq war and in Bosnia, being the first ground troops to mobilise there. It helps you grow up very quickly. I then left the Military and trained as a Lawyer.
What are you responsible for in your current position? Growing the business, sales, marketing and legal. Customer relationships and liaison are another key focus.
What have been the biggest industry changes you’ve seen in your time? The introduction of mobile devices; it’s opened up a whole new inquisitive player and given an added excitement to the gaming experience.
What are the biggest positive factors for your sector right now? It has to be mobile; technology is giving us the ability to mobilise and monetise the player
in ways we only dreamed of when I started in the business in 1995.
And what are the negatives ones – the obstacles to growth? If the casino/games operators become too brand-centric (i.e. ‘because Company X gave us a great game X years ago, we should still work with them’) then that is an obstacle to all our growth.
Looking at your entire career, what do you think was your smartest move? Becoming the Youngest Main Board Director of a SEGA-owned gaming company at the age of just 32, responsible for Worldwide Sales. I learnt an awful lot!
And dumbest one? Learning to fly and sail because I need to keep launching best-of-breed game content to pay for it.
Where do you hope you’ll be, professionally, in ten years’ time? Having finally paid off the flying and sailing tools! But seriously, I’d like to think I was still involved in the industry in some way, possibly in a Non-Exec role after selling the business and seeing it continue the 300% Year-On-Year growth we’ve seen since launch to date.
If you’d never embarked on this career, what other line of work would you have liked to pursue?
Difficult one. I’ve been fortunate enough to taste fundamentally different career paths to date and with that, it hasn’t really left an appetite for anything else. However, something entrepreneurial, challenging and within an emerging market for sure.
Movie: Shawshank Redemption
Book: Finding Jack
Item of clothing: Breitling Emergency Mission watch
Pizza topping: Pepperoni
+ Past time: Flying and sailing MARCH 2018 69
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