Growing up on the tropical island of Sri Lanka, Bluberi Gaming’s Andy Dalugoda saw San Diego as the closest physical locale to that kind of atmosphere in the U.S., especially after spending 20 years in the desert that is Las Vegas. Just the kind of place to settle down and begin his career after obtaining a bachelor of business administration in 2012 from the Lee Business School at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Then reality hit Dalugoda, along with the Great Recession. Finding employment as a recent grad wasn’t going to be easy, and moving to San Diego would be very expensive.
He got lucky with his first job in 2013 as a marketing data analyst at Aristocrat, where he spent three years. “I loved everything about it,” says Dalugoda, a first-time father of a two-year-old, Martin.
“I believe gaming sits at a unique intersection of mathematics, human psychology, entertainment, and technology.’
Dalugoda came into his own at Konami Gaming, where he joined in late 2015 and spent six and a half years as a data analytics manager. Despite being one of the largest gaming suppliers in the world, Konami still retained a small-company environment, he says.
“I had the opportunity to work with many different areas of the business, from sales to research & development to marketing and operations, which really shaped my career. Plus, I met some amazing people who influenced my professional journey and became lifelong friends,” says Dalugoda.
Life at Bluberi: ‘It lets me play detective’
Two of those amazing people—Mesa Whitehurst and Steve Kohon—helped guide his career as mentors. Indeed, both moved over to Bluberi Gaming, where Dalugoda currently works as senior director of data, analytics and systems.
For Dalugoda, data analytics comes down to solving mysteries, to help his team answer the age-old questions of what and why, applied to the technology of gaming devices.
“It lets me play detective, something I very much enjoy,” he says. “Also, you get visibility into so many areas of the business. We collect performance data from our units in the field and also track a lot of internal data in regard to manufacturing, marketing, operations and so forth. All that data derives insights and helps guide business decisions.”
As his title implies, Dalugoda does not consider the field of analytics as a fluke. Over the next 10 years, he sees analytics as the forefront of new technologies. At the end of the day, he hopes to make a significant impact to this industry.
—Bill Sokolic
Emerging Leaders of Gaming is accepting nominations for the class of 2024. Nominate the industry’s future stars here.
Presented by Global Gaming Business and The Innovation Group.
