In this edition of CTO in Focus, Gaming Eminence interviews Graham Merrett, Chief Technology Officer of OtherLevels, discussing the integration of machine learning and AI to enhance customer engagement in the sports betting and gambling industry. Graham highlights his leadership philosophy, emphasising the importance of diverse teams and practical AI applications that deliver measurable improvements in customer experience. He also addresses how OtherLevels navigates the balance between personalisation and data privacy. Additionally, Graham touches upon adapting OtherLevels' technology stack to meet the demands of global markets with varying regulatory environments, and shares insights into the architectural principles behind the Sports Engagement Platform. The conversation underscores his strategic focus on innovation while maintaining compliance and trust in a fast-evolving industry.
Gaming Eminence: With over two decades of experience in software engineering, including roles in Australia and Hong Kong, how have your diverse career experiences shaped your leadership approach at OtherLevels? In what ways have these experiences influenced the integration of machine learning into your platform, particularly in enhancing customer engagement within the highly competitive sports betting and gambling industry?
GM) "My leadership philosophy is centred on surrounding myself and listening to people who are not only smarter than me but also have a passion for technology. I believe in the power of diverse backgrounds, challenges, and perspectives—whether they come from different cultures, industries, or disciplines. This diversity drives innovation and helps us tackle problems from multiple angles. Some of the best engineers I’ve worked with have had unconventional paths, such as backgrounds in history or fine arts, which bring unique ways of thinking that are invaluable. The key is to build teams that instinctively understand our core mission: to create solutions that effectively address business challenges and deliver tangible value to our customers in the most efficient way possible.
When it comes to AI and machine learning, we might have a couple of rocket scientists in the team, but we are not building space shuttles. My focus is on practical applications that deliver measurable outcomes, our most successful projects are those with clear objectives that directly improve customer engagement. Our approach is hands-on: we immerse ourselves in the data and use machine learning in ways that are grounded in the needs of our operators. Generative AI, for instance, is set to be transformative in the sports betting space, not because it’s flashy, but because it offers a new dimension in customer experience.
If you want to win at roulette, you don’t need an AI model that will predict the number the ball will land on, you need quality data, precision, and to just predict which side of the wheel the ball is marginally more or less likely to fall on, and a way to execute that. The goal isn’t to predict the unpredictable, but to provide operators with tools that enhance customer experiences in real time, making each interaction feel more personal and relevant."
Gaming Eminence: Given your academic foundation in computer science, mathematics, and business, how do you balance the technical demands of personalisation with strategic considerations like user trust and data privacy? What lessons from your earlier roles have been most valuable in guiding the development of OtherLevels’ sophisticated data-driven marketing strategies, especially in a highly regulated industry like gambling?
GM) "For me, it’s not about finding a balance but starting with a principled approach. Customer trust and data privacy are core to who we are, and everything else is built on top of that foundation. Our commitment is to treat every operator, regardless of size, as an enterprise-grade client, which means rigorous standards in data handling and privacy.
My early career in Hong Kong, working in sports and racing trading, taught me the importance of precision—you live or die by it. My time developing consumer finance and commodities trading systems has given me a deep appreciation for the complexities of operating in regulated environments, where compliance is as critical as innovation. These experiences have been invaluable in shaping our data-driven marketing strategies at OtherLevels, particularly in navigating the fine line between personalisation and privacy in a highly regulated sector."
Gaming Eminence: Your extensive experience across different markets provides you with a unique perspective on global technology adoption in the gambling sector. How have the regulatory and customer behaviour differences in regions like Australia and Hong Kong influenced your strategic approach at OtherLevels? How has your career evolution informed the way you adapt OtherLevels' technology stack to meet the varying demands of global markets while maintaining a unified platform?
GM) "Regulatory environments in Australia and Hong Kong are highly restrictive, particularly around residents betting with offshore sportsbooks, and (in Australia) the restrictions around online in-play betting. This background has been crucial in navigating the complexities of sports betting legalisation in the US, where regulations differ state by state and even depend on the physical location of the bettor. Understanding these nuances helps us build solutions that are both compliant and adaptable to regional needs.
Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong. Wednesday nights under the floodlights, surrounded by towering high-rises is a unique experience. I was lucky enough to spend many race nights there, but also to see the evolution of customer experiences in that market from a very high-stakes and serious culture to the introduction of the trackside beer garden for example.
Our technology stack is designed with adaptability in mind, leveraging microservices architecture and APIs that provide extensibility, maintainability, and scalability. This approach allows us to meet the unique demands of each market while maintaining a unified, reliable platform for our operators. Betfair was a pioneer is this area, leading the betting exchange market over 20 years ago with their innovative API-first model."
Gaming Eminence: The real-time nature of sports events presents unique challenges for engagement platforms. Drawing from your two decades of experience, what key architectural principles have you implemented in OtherLevels’ Sports Engagement Platform to ensure it can effectively handle the volatility of live data feeds like odds and match events? How does your background in real-time systems and large-scale data processing inform the platform’s ability to deliver timely and relevant content across multiple sports and markets?
GM) "At OtherLevels, we process live data for over 100 football leagues, 30 basketball leagues, the NFL, NBA, NCAA, MLB, and global horseracing, creating real-time personalised recommendations with context for our operators. A centralised, learning-based mapping system is critical for accurately connecting odds, markets, team stats, and player data. We maintain a master record for every team, player, match, and market, aligning incoming data from diverse sources. When data integrity is compromised, such as when a sportsbook suspends a market after a goal is scored, our system is designed to recognise and exclude unreliable data.
Microservices architecture and APIs are fundamental to our approach, supported by a robust, high-performance messaging infrastructure using tools like RabbitMQ, Redis, Elasticsearch, and StarRocks. Our stack runs on AWS, utilising scaling groups for containerised services and serverless functions to ensure the platform remains highly available and responsive."
About our contributor
Graham Merrett is the CTO at OtherLevels, where he leads the engineering team in developing advanced machine learning solutions for global sports betting and iGaming. With over 20 years in software engineering across Australia and Hong Kong, Graham has extensive expertise in complex systems design, cloud computing (AWS and GCP), and machine learning. His notable achievements include delivering a high-impact Sports Engagement Platform and integrating it into major sports data deals. A patent-holder in the USA, Europe, and Australia, Graham is also a sought-after speaker at international conferences. He holds a 1st Class Honours degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, and an MBA.