And increased demand for experienced staff

Salary survey demonstrates evolution of the online gaming industry

2015-06-24
Reading time 4:28 min
Online gaming companies are evolving into multi-disciplinary technology, marketing and product companies where the demands are for capable and qualified staff both from within and outside the sector, according to the new salary survey released by industry recruitment specialists BettingJobs.

Today’s online gaming businesses are evolving in line with the technology that powers them and this is particularly evident when it comes to the rise of mobile gaming, according to the trends captured by the survey.

Designers, developers and IT project managers are in demand at all levels of the industry, as are experienced marketing professionals and product managers. In many of these areas, the desire to seek hires from outside the industry is also evident.

“The general trends from our salary survey should be viewed as being very positive for the industry,” said Fiona Hickey, director at BettingJobs. “They show an industry which continues to evolve and be shaped by the technology which drives its appeal. The channel shift towards mobile has been dramatic and is sure to continue.”

“The transition to mobile has seen many of the major operators that we work with seek to broaden their search in terms of where they hope to find the talent to bring into their businesses. Many more of our clients are now seeking to bring in candidates with experience from outside the industry.”
 
Increasing automation and analytics 

Business analysts are more in demand than ever. The salary survey data shows head of analytics roles now command an average salary of £73,000 globally while business analysts are now worth on average £46,000. The survey found that Malta has been a key beneficiary of the rise of analytics, alongside Gibraltar and the UK.

“The rise of analytics departments has been nothing less than staggering,” says Hickey. “They are now one of the most important divisions within any online gaming organisation.”

Automation is also changing the face of the sports trading desks where quantitative analysts are now much in demand with average salaries for these jobs coming in at close to £57,000. In comparison, lower than senior level positions on sports trading desks are less in demand.

The evidence from multiple thousands of salaries would suggest the rise of in-play betting, ever more outsourcing for key elements of a sports-betting offering, and the dependency of sports trading on technology to provide the speed of transaction needed in today’s online marketplace have combine to irreversibly change the nature of online sports-betting.
 
“This swing towards automated trading is most evident in the UK and the other major sports-betting hubs of Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta,” says Hickey. “This is where algorithmic trading on sports-betting is now absolutely central.”
 
Another major trend BettingJobs has witnessed is the rise of online gaming in Asia. “It will come as no surprise to anyone working within the online sports-betting and gaming industry that we are seeing increasing interest from candidates to look to positions in Asia – and particularly Manila - as that industry continues to boom,” says Hickey.
 
Average salaries for selected jobs across all eight jurisdictions:

 

Selected job titles

Av. (£)

Chief marketing officer

124,625

Country manager

58,571

IT director

99,438

IT designer

36,250

IT project manager

47,813

Operations director

94,125

Director of product

112,375

Product manager

51,063

The BettingJobs salary survey looks at data from eight jurisdictions around the world (UK, Ireland, Mainland Europe, Eastern Europe, Malta, Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Asia) and looked at 10 job categories (executive, technical, commercial, marketing, trading, finance, analytics, operations, product, and legal).
 
The survey can be accessed online at salarysurvey.bettingjobs.com/login and will be available to the general industry for a limited period.
 
It is the most comprehensive data set ever collated on salaries within online gaming. The objective for the salary survey is to provide a reference point for the industry that will benefit large and small organisation alike which will be able to use the data to position themselves strategically when recruiting.
 
The salary survey includes a living report on each region, providing a useful outline of some of the key considerations when relocating including taxes, cost of living and quality of life factors.
 
Each region also contains the key trends evident from the survey. These include:

An increase in recruitment of non-industry professionals into high-level marketing roles.

No evident sign of the introduction of the Point of Consumption tax in the UK having an effect on salaries within the sector, though there are signs that more M&A is on the cards.

Elite candidates can still command high salaries regardless of the trajectory of their sector.
 
Loyalty a bonus

A key theme that the recruitment specialists within BettingJobs have noted in recent years has been a growing degree of loyalty on the part of employees to the established operators in the field.
 
“In recent years, we have observed markedly less job-hopping among candidates,” says Hickey. “Loyalty, a desire for stability in an uncertain economy, and the desire to work for reputable brands with the availability of career progression and increased responsibilities, has resulted in fewer candidates making sideways steps for more money.”
 
“We think the trend towards greater loyalty shows how the online gaming industry has matured,” adds Hickey. “Many of the top operators that we work with have now been leading the field for over a decade; the online business has to an extent grown up and the career paths within the industry are clearer than they were six years ago.
 
“That said, as the survey makes clear, the industry as a whole is still very much evolving, led by the shift to mobile. This is sure to mean that decent candidates for a wide range of executive, product development and project management positions will continue to be the order of the day.”

 

Leave your comment
Subscribe to our newsletter
Enter your email to receive the latest news
By entering your email address, you agree to Yogonet's Condiciones de uso and Privacy Policies. You understand Yogonet may use your address to send updates and marketing emails. Use the Unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Unsubscribe
EVENTS CALENDAR