A study from BettingJobs has found a 25% decline in remote placements from clients compared to last year, with more clients now looking to hire staff for on-site or via hybrid work.
These stats, part of a wider report by the gaming recruitment company, show a shift towards hybrid and on-site work within gaming. It also showed a significant jump in the number of hires in LatAm and the UAE, as well as more female hires in the industry.
Remote work
In a post-Covid job market, remote work has become a key talking point among employees and employers. While it was a necessity during the pandemic, remote working showed the hiring market that, even after we were allowed to return to the office, most of what could be done at the office can be done from home.
There are pros and cons of remote working for both parties. For staff, remote work means no commute, a better work/life balance (although this is debatable!) and greater opportunity to show independence. It also opens doors for those who may struggle to enter certain workplaces, such as those with disabilities or those living in remote areas.
However, wholly remote work can be an isolating experience, with both productivity and mental health potentially taking a hit.
On the employer side, remote work means they can place a global net on sourcing talent, while also diversifying work hours based on where staff are located. However, remote work means having a lot of trust in staff to do the work assigned to them with the same speed and efficiency as can be achieved in an office environment, something that cannot always be guaranteed.
Women in gaming
Elsewhere, BettingJobs data showed that the number of women in IT and technical roles has doubled compared to this time last year. The number of women in compliance roles has also tripled year-on-year, with the overall number of female placements made by BettingJobs increasing 15% year-on-year. BettingJobs also reported an increase in the number of women being placed in executive roles in the industry.
With the increasing visibility of women in leadership roles, and the presence of groups such as ASCEND, Saroca and Global Gaming Women at industry conferences, bringing more women into leadership roles especially has been a big topic of conversation among businesses. These stats, therefore, are promising, especially in fields such as IT, which has been typically male-dominated.
LatAm
The Latin American market has been growing exponentially in the last year, with examples seen in the regulation of iGaming in Peru and regulation of sports betting in Brazil. As such, BettingJobs has placed significantly more individuals into gaming roles in the LatAm than the year before.
UAE
BettingJobs also saw the number of placements it has made in the UAE increase notably, with far more placements being made in the nation than the year before. Several factors may have contributed to this, including the continuous development of the nation’s first casino resort, Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, which was announced in the summer of 2022 and resulted in the development of the UAE’s gaming regulator, the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), in September 2023.
The regulation of lottery gaming may also have been a factor, which was finalised at the start of the month with the licence for operating the UAE lottery going to Games LLC.
Either way, developing interest in hiring in the UAE is indicative of businesses developing their presence alongside the development of the legalised industry, as a legalised gaming industry in the UAE would likely prove lucrative.
C-Level
Across the board, BettingJobs placed 3.5x more C-Level executives in roles across the gaming industry compared to the year before. Several factors may contribute to this, including the gaming industry’s current push for background diversification, which calls for companies to hire from outside of the industry or their company in order to bring new perspectives and skill sets into the market.
Some recent examples of out-of-industry hires include that of Mike Ybarra as CEO of PrizePicks, which occurred in August. Taking over from former CEO Adam Wexler (who will be taking on the role of Executive Chairman), Ybarra comes to the role as the former President of Blizzard, the gaming company behind titles such as The Witcher and World of Warcraft. He also served as Corporate VP at Microsoft for almost 20 years.
All that is to say, new ideas at C-Level via the introduction of new blood is a method to keep businesses fresh and innovative. While some will call for the promotion of in-house talent to these roles, due to the depth of their knowledge, a combined approach to designing a business’s executive team may prove a happy medium.
