Creative Director
BitStarz & Cashy
I run a 15-person creative team across BitStarz and Cashy. Design, animation, copy, CRM and social. I build the systems that let them ship at scale, including the AI tooling.
Sicily
Sam
Degaetano
I run a 15-person creative team across BitStarz and Cashy. Design, animation, copy, CRM and social. I build the systems that let them ship at scale, including the AI tooling.
Download CV
A
About
I grew up in Malta. Spent my twenties in iGaming, working my way from marketing coordinator at Yggdrasil, through brand and campaign management at betFIRST, into community marketing at AvatarUX.
In October 2024 I stepped up to Creative Director across BitStarz and Cashy, where I run a 15-person team across design, animation, copy, CRM and social. I also run the AI training: a workshop for 50+ people at the annual meetup, and a session every three or four weeks since. The team stopped just using AI tools and started building their own. We went from a generic design team to an AI-powered mini studio.
On the tooling side I've shipped BannerForge, an internal platform generating on-brand game thumbnails and marketing banners, now in production across both brands. And a design review pipeline that runs Claude and ChatGPT in parallel against the original brief.
Outside that, my wife and I founded Permanido in 2023. A regenerative farmstay in the Nebrodi Mountains of Sicily, built from a half-derelict property we've been restoring ever since. I do most of the hands-on work myself: solar installs, pool repairs, electrical work, land management, the website, the SEO.
The thread between both lives is the same. Find the real problem. Build a system that works. Lead people who care. And use AI as a daily tool, not a buzzword.
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Now
Founder
Permanido
Co-running a regenerative agriturismo in northern Sicily with my wife. Building the systems that run it: regenerative land management, carbon drawdown, reforestation, water and energy infrastructure.
AI Builder
AI-augmented systems
I build AI-native tools and workflows in production across two iGaming brands. BannerForge generates on-brand game thumbnails and banners at scale. Multi-model design review pipeline running Claude and ChatGPT in parallel. MCP integrations across Linear and Google Workspace. I also founded Crwdly, a SaaS events platform for the iGaming conference market.
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Selected Work
01
Cashy & BitStarz
Building and running two crypto casino brands
Launched Cashy from zero: brand identity, tone of voice, design system, the Zero BS Casino positioning and creative direction across every touchpoint. Running both brands' 15-person creative org across design, animation, copy, CRM and social. Introduced AI into ideation, visual exploration, prototyping and production across the team. Built a culture of AI experimentation through a recurring training cadence and shared AI workflows.
02
Crwdly
AI event platform for iGaming
I founded Crwdly, a SaaS events platform for the iGaming conference market. I own it end to end. Kills the spreadsheet-and-WhatsApp stack: AI builds the schedule, broadcasts updates to Telegram, handles meeting booking and runs the photo wall.
crwdly.io →
03
Creative at scale, AI-augmented
AI tooling and systems for a 15-person creative org
Built BannerForge, an internal AI creative automation platform generating on-brand game thumbnails and marketing banners, in production across BitStarz and Cashy, with a funded expansion approved covering all game providers and a self-serve generator for the design team. Multi-model design review pipeline running Claude and ChatGPT in parallel against the original brief, with programmatic mobile legibility checks. Claude Projects as brand-aligned AI creative directors. Linear rebuilt with AI-integrated tooling and format-specific templates across static, carousel, video and story. A company-wide AI training programme, running monthly, that has moved the team from tool experimentation to building their own production automations.
04
Permanido
Regenerative farmstay in Sicily
Co-founder. Property restoration, retreat program, brand and website, SEO. A full operating business built from the ground up.
permanido.com →
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Experience
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2017
Co-Founder
Zibel NGO
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2017
3D Designer
Fablab Valletta
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2012 - 2016
First & Second Line Trading Officer
Phoenix GSB
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2009 - 2012
IT Coordinator / Designer
Clear Dimension Ltd
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2009 -
Freelance Creative
Various
Education
BFA Digital Arts, University of Malta / 2015 - 2018
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Contact
Open to conversations about creative direction, founder roles, or building AI-native products. Particularly interested in regenerative tech, sustainability, and AI-native product work.