Online gambling is one of the few industries to have received a boost as a result of the global pandemic, and things were already looking good for operators at the beginning of 2020, too. The industry is growing rapidly each year, but especially over the last twelve months as more and more players have had vastly more time to spend at home on their computers.
Improvements in payment technologies such as the ability to issue instant refunds back to debit cards issued by Mastercard and Visa have given the industry a new level of credibility, too. More and more countries are regulating their online gaming industries now too, with the continued growth of state-level regulation across the US as a result of the repeal of the PASPA legislation set to cause an explosion in job opportunities for those located in the United States who wish to work within this field.
But what exactly could such a job entail? You may be surprised at the diversity of positions on offer, and the advantages that iGaming careers can have over other office-based forms of employment.
A Wide Variety of Positions Are Available – Do Any of Them Match Your Existing Skillset?
Gaming sites aren’t always just about the gambling games themselves – many expert gambling sites like Beastsofpoker.com have regularly updated blogs, so you may be surprised to find jobs available for content writers, particularly if you have an interest in all things gambling related already.
Graphics designers are always required too, and some sites like to refresh their look and feel on a regular basis to ensure it meets the standard of other sites of comparable size and quality. You don’t even necessarily need web-development experience either, as many companies will employ other staff to deal with the work of breaking up your designs into chunks suitable for the web.
Marketing and communications teams are essential, and these skills are usually easily transferrable from one industry to another – if you are great at promoting products or communicating with customers, there is probably a suitable position for you in the gambling industry.
Technical roles such as IT administrators are essential to keep the office computers working effectively. If the site you work for deals with their own hosting, there will be big money positions available for those who can look after a gaming server with the potential to support tens of thousands of simultaneous users. Developers are also essential to deal with the plumbing in of new games to the existing website framework, and these roles can also be highly paid and require little knowledge of the iGaming industry as long as your software skills are up to scratch.
Finally, administrative and managerial roles are essential in any large business – from team leaders to payroll managers and accounting staff, there is far more to working in iGaming than simply testing software all day!
iGaming is an International Industry, Which Presents A Host of Opportunities
If you can speak a second language, you make an ideal candidate within the iGaming industry, especially for support roles. The ability to speak a second language may also encourage your new employer to consider sending you to learn further languages to better support their multi-national clients.
This could even mean the ability to re-locate to another country, if you wish. Many of the large online casinos and sportsbooks have offices in a range of countries – Ireland is a popular one due to their lax tax regime, and the islands of Alderney, Malta and Gibraltar are also common locations for iGaming offices too.
European countries such as Spain, Estonia, Sweden and the United Kingdom are also hotbeds of iGaming activity right now, and the emerging legal market in the USA is sure to result in thousands of new jobs in that jurisdiction too. You could even find yourself with the opportunity to work in Asia, where iGaming is growing exponentially every year.
iGaming is Already One of the Richest Industries on the Planet
Job security is a major concern for all of us in 2021, so a rapidly expanding industry that is already pulling in billions of dollars per year in revenues is sure to catch the eye of those concerned about their future.
Latest estimates suggest that over $60 billion USD of GDP was created by the iGaming industry last year, and that number doesn’t include several questionable variables that aren’t yet ready to be included in official figures. Most Americans are currently using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to place their bets, which makes it difficult to ascertain just how much is actually being gambled outside of the handful of currently legal states.
E-Sports is expected to add billions more to the balance sheets of the largest sportsbooks over the next two to three years – and those kinds of numbers are sure to attract investors, who will demand further growth and innovation in order to see their investments grow. In short, iGaming could possibly be one of the safest fields to work in right now!
Opportunities for Promotion Happen Frequently
If you feel like you are languishing in your current role or industry, you might be surprised at just how quickly committed individuals can progress through the ranks of iGaming companies. If you are willing to pull out all the stops to demonstrate your talent and potential, then you could begin to see results in just two or three years within the iGaming industry that could take a decade or more to find in more conventional office roles.
Many companies don’t realize the value of their staff until they have left and moved on to another company just for the benefit of a small pay rise. Don’t expect the young, dynamic managerial staff of iGaming companies to make such mistakes. If you can demonstrate pro-activeness when working under your own initiative, and demonstrate intelligent thinking to those higher up the chain of command, you too could be climbing the corporate ladder at breakneck speed.
Flexible Working Conditions Have Always Been Available in iGaming
Working from home has become much more common since 2020, but iGaming have long offered this benefit to their employees wherever possible. Support based jobs can be done just as effectively using VoIP phones and a VPN connection into the company office, and developers will often find they work just as well if not better using their own workspace at home rather than being confined to the busy environment of an office.
Don’t be surprised if you are free to set your own working hours, too – you may have core hours of 11am-3pm each day, perhaps, or something similar, but may be permitted to start at 6am or finish at 8pm if those would better fit around your lifestyle.
A Strong Sense of Community
Some of us like to keep our work and social lives entirely separate – and this can be an extremely sensible decision given the strict nature of many larger corporate businesses. The iGaming industry often works very differently – you won’t be disciplined should you choose not to engage with the frequent social occasions on offer, of course, but you will surely have plenty in common with the people you work with and spending time with them outside of work may well be extremely enjoyable, especially for younger members of staff.
Be warned though, you’ll still need to be sure to represent your company with professionalism and respect whenever posting on Facebook or attending any kind of function with a known attachment to your employer. Embrace the party culture and enjoy yourself, but be particularly careful of alcohol clouding your judgement.
Impressive Offices That Come with Impressive Perks
Finally, don’t be surprised to find your new offices to be fitted out with the latest modern comforts, ergonomic seating and furniture, and creative uses of space that wouldn’t look out of place amongst the halls of any Silicon Valley startup.
Sky Bet’s offices in Leeds, England are located in a Skyscraper which is just a one-minute walk from Leeds train station. This is ultra-convenient for commuters obviously, but also provides a huge amount of additional employee facilities made possible by the increased amount of usable floor space.
High wages are often supported by private healthcare and pension funds, the ability to lease a company vehicle, and the freedom to dress how you wish unless there is a special occasion which requires you to don traditional business attire.
Summary
In the middle of a global downturn, and a long and hard economic recovery yet to really begin, it would make a lot of sense for many people to take a look at their possible career prospects right now. There are many more advantages to working in the iGaming industry that didn’t make the cut for this article too, so if these seven points have piqued your interest, be sure to go and do some further research. It could just be the smartest career decision you’ll ever make.
