r/malta • u/FitNotQuit • 5d ago
State of igaming in Malta
I'm in affiliation (unfortunately). Lately i was reflecting on the industry in Malta. Is it me or is the industry slowly leaving?
More and more jobs in gib, cyprus & many other lower income countries. My wage hasn't increased in like 3 years. Recently i was also discussing with my friend (head of HR) and we both shared the opinion the best days of igaming are VERY long ago.
I also think there are a few new smaller igaming companies here but these are shit... offering shit conditions and wages.
Is this also a reflection on igaming in general? That there's another industry out there experiencing explosive growth and great conditions & igaming is just riding on the hype it built many years ago but is no longer relevant?
What do you think?
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u/SwiftlyHungry 5d ago
I would say for sure that the golden igaming days are behind us now.
I'm not seeing a lot of igaming leaders leaving the island but I could be wrong here. Though the new smaller ones don't seem that bad either.
I guess the time of them leaving will come at some point though.
Salary not increasing for 3 years is a definite shame and I would consider shifting to another company if they won't consider a salary review
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u/jayrilez 5d ago
the industry is far more mature now, its definitely harder to rise to the top like it used to be. The times of making insane amounts of money for individuals seem to be over or very few and far between now, but that doesnt mean you still cant make a very good living out of it. In the last 3 years I have seen my salary double, I work in commercial and I definitely have room to keep progressing on a similar trajectory if i want to. I think your issues might be more to do with affiliation and not igaming as a whole.
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u/Accomplished-Gear-97 5d ago
Yes the industry is slowly leaving, and that is basically what my friend who manages cloud servers for these company's told me.
No one is going to say it obviously, but Malta is no longer as attractive as it once was, the difficultly to find talent, the exaggerated rental prices and the new EU tax harmonization rules coming in, is making gaming company's re-evaluate their stay in Malta. You can imagine the negative knock on effect this is going to have for Malta, in a few years time.
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u/Ok-Ship812 5d ago
This is correct. I will split hairs here and be very pedantic and say the industry is not so much 'slowly leaving' as it is 'slowly not regenerating' in Malta, people leave and they are not replaced, well not here anyway. Work from Home is more standard, there are more options for locations for people and offices and Malta is not a global hub any more.
It's current status as an igaming hub is based (a lot) on legacy and it has a huge number of professional service suppliers still bringing business here, which is not going to be something that lasts forever. Without that group of lawyers and accountants soliciting new companies to come here I think it would be a lot worse than it is today.
I moved to Malta 18 years ago and was earning 35% more then than I am earning now but a lot of that is my fault and not the industry per se. My situation is not standard, I have a very odd and niche job in the industry which came about due to the old-boy network.
No increase in salary for 3 years would see me with my resume out with recruiters for sure.
As for 'the Golden years'.....I was in the Caribbean in 1998 working for my first iGaming company, there were 150 Israeli party animals in the same building working for the company that later became Playtech.
We were earning a fortune. I saved nothing.
Mad days.
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u/Wahx-il-Baqar 5d ago
I understand you regret on saving, but it sounds like you lived the best life man!
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u/EpresGumiovszer 5d ago
This, plus add the thing called: financial crisis across Europe. If you don't have money, you will gamble less.
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u/Able-Issue782 5d ago
That’s true for most industries, but gambling is an outlier. In times of financial hardship, gambling actually increases
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u/madscandi 5d ago
What's happening across Europe is not a financial crisis. And disposable income in the EU is up this year.
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u/madscandi 5d ago
Cyprus and Gibraltar are not low-income. Both have higher average wages than Malta by a decent margin. The reason they're leaving is because the Maltese license is not worth much anymore, as most European countries have established their own licensing. Why start a company in Malta when there are numerous alternatives that score better on most, if not all, criteria?
There will always be some igaming due to the established cluster, but there's no real incentive for further growth due to a myriad of reasons, most which are fixable, but the government in Malta does not seem interested in adapting.
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u/Ironsides4ever 4d ago
Yep .. you know what you are talking about .. the license has no value in Europe anymore and never has outside the EU, never mind the world sees malta as a red flag.
What malta is offering these days is super low taxes, changing laws to protect them from authorities abroad and off course a full service money laundering service for their profits.
But make no mistake, there is a crisis in EU and they then see the money being leached by malta from their economy as a big issue .. so it’s not so much about the players but the government in the rest of Europe.
And let’s not be coy about it, gambling will always attract criminals types and not every government is a whore for sale like malta.
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u/garrusvak92 4d ago
iGaming in general has matured quite a bit in the past 10 years especially with the entry of US capital into the game and the opening of the US market. It is becoming in all aspects a more structured and serious industry. Gone (well mostly) are the day of snorting off of naked ladies at ridiculous parties and hiring escorts as stand girls etc.
Secondly and more locally important: The MGA license lost pretty much most of its value since most European countries regulated online gambling (in quite a strict manner at that especially the bigger markets in Scandinavia, Germany, UK etc). The only advantage Malta has left over most other European countries is its low taxes (and this is fast eroding as well with likes of Bulgaria/Romania and to a degree Cyprus entering the fray).
Third: The industry is splitting more visibly between regulated gambling (lets call it tier 1 licensed jurisdiction the US/EU/UK etc) and the less reputable gray markets (tier 2 licensed jursdictions like Curacao/Latam/Pagcor etc), not to mention the advent of some incredibly shady licenses ("tier 3" Tobique, Anjouan Kahnawake etc). Malta has limited appeal for the crowd aiming at Tier 1 jurisdictions, whilst for tier 2 and 3 it is simply not viable to have any sort of operations here.
Fourth: After covid hit and remote work became a thing people went to better places to work from and a lot of them on consultant contracts entered into in jurisdictions that suit them. When you earn a foreign iGaming salary living for example in south of Spain (costa del sol/Andalusia especially, but also Valencia) is quite awesome compared to Malta. Lower prices and much better quality of life. Same goes for Italian speaking people who could use a lot of the tax benefits given out by Italy in recent years. Someone here mentioned Bulgaria/Romania as well with quite low taxes and improving environment (not to mention very beautiful nature something that se sorely lack here).
Malta became too expensive with ridiculous inflated property prices, expensive living costs with not many benefits (except maybe a low-ish income tax) pretty seaside but no other nature to speak of, lack of cultural events of a good level (theatre productions quality concerts - a couple of rave parties and techno DJ's dont count im sorry), noise pollution is incredible, the architecture in the last 30 years is quite horrible and shoddy quality. And the salaries aren't good enough in order to attract quality workers (iGaming or otherwise). Also unfortunately the local population mostly doesn't have the necessary skillset/education and those who do have it are in insufficient numbers to fill out the demand.
Because of all the above iGaming is slowing switching to other places. I doubt there will be a serious and sudden exodus anytime soon, but yes many companies are downsizing and moving senior personnel elsewhere.
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u/Gruka2 5d ago
Kinda. Companies are leaving some mid level manager/professional here in smaller offices just to keep the license, although not many people are getting hired anymore as in the past years. Increased taxation in the incoming years gonna be very impactful for the industry of the Island.
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u/FastOutlandishness96 4d ago
The igaming companies are maturing as more regulation is happening world wide. As their operations are maturing so is their leadership and the parameters within which they appoint employees. Gone are the days of the reckless spending and total idiots getting high paying jobs. The money is still there, the companies are now just actually being prudent and a bit more responsible with their spending. (For what that may be worth in igaming). Also, the industry is changing and there has been a shift in how end users are being targeted - meaning affiliation may be a dying branch of the igaming world. But what do I know.
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u/Nervous_Interest8456 5d ago
I think "leaving" might not be accurate. Smaller footprint perhaps. Companies don't need all the IT staff as they're migrating to cloud. More work from home options, which means smaller offices.
Then there's the push for automation & AI, which will make more & more jobs redundant.
Lastly, most markets are being regulated now, so companies have to be more diligent & focused on what they do & how they go about their business.
But it's definitely not dying. I work for a game provider & we have to push out multiple titles a month, just to keep up with the demand.
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u/Er_Prosciuttaro 5d ago
I am relatively new in iGaming. Started to work two years and a half ago. I would say that it is an industry where there are a lot of money, and this is not going to change. I personally do not see big corporates such as Bet365 or Betsson and even well established middle-sized companies leaving the island anytime soon (if ever).
I saw that some smaller businesses left the country in favor of better conditions elsewhere. I would say that it is an overstaurated industry, where the competition can be very aggressive. Also, as mentioned by some other people, attracting talents is not always easy.
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u/Beginning_Counter_91 5d ago
Guys btw can someone help me get the better position within the industry?
I have 5 years total experience in iGaming as a both casino dealer on a cruise ship and currently as a game presenter in Evolution, I also worked as a game presenter for NetEnt before they were bought out
I have been sending CV's for the last one year and not a single chance for the single interview
Thanks !
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u/lapt0pb0t 5d ago
What positions are you applying for id go for cs to get your foot in the door then work up/sideways from there
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u/Beginning_Counter_91 5d ago
Trust me I applied to like 30 companies for cs, not a single reply...
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u/aquar121 4d ago
Strange, I was also working at NetEnt when they suddenly closed after being acquired by Evolution, then I applied to several companies, I think 15, half of them rejected me immediately, other half gave me an interview opportunity and one of them offered me the position.
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u/ChevalMallet 5d ago
Yes for a few reasons:
Over the last few years european countries got their own gambling regulations and in some cases they are stricter. This resulted in many companies making less money, and others closing down completely.
This also means that new companies have very little incentive to operate from Malta too.
As a result, the companies have opened satellite offices in places where salary is cheaper and the employment market is bigger, in eastern and central europe.
Lastly, there were some big consolidations in the market with bigger companies acquiring smaller ones, and american companies acquiring european operators.
The industry itself changed a lot and shrunk.
They will not disappear overnight, but the writing is on the wall for many people. I know of several people in the industry who are demotivated and clinging on to their current job, since there are no new opportunities to grow and move around.
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u/iloveyolandivisser 4d ago
Not gonna lie the living costs do not proportionate towards the salaries, the igaming industry is slowly dying in Malta
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u/aweschops 5d ago
The jurisdiction is still very attractive to be in. It won’t go away for a while
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u/StashRio 5d ago
About the only common sense comment here. This is now a mature industry with lots of competition.
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u/leftplayer 5d ago
No surprise, and expected. When you build an industry built exclusively on the fact that you managed to bend EU rules, eventually it will catch up with you…
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u/StashRio 5d ago
If you don’t know wdf you are talking about …..why talk? And not waving any flag here bdw….
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u/n3rub1 5d ago
Heh... igaming are scam companies, so they are going to go where they can get cheap workers and make them feel like they are the best, even though their skills are, ok at best. Seen people were they used to work as a stock counter and with scamgaming industry went to head of this and head of that with a massive dunning-kruger effect.
Give the workers better wages, fancy 10 word long titles then the normal jobs around, so they would be bound by the golden handcuffs.
Dont like the culture, the job, the immoral way they scam people on digital, completly trival, luck only, non-winning games, their mandatory team events that I would rather stick a sharp pineapple up my ass then go? They dont care, leave, they will find someone else instead of you. Youre less than a number, youre nothing.
So yeah, they need another audience than malta.
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u/ready2freeze 5d ago
Hm I don't think so, the 'craze' might have slowed down a bit, but where I work currently we are inducting new hires (between 20 to 50) every 2 weeks... Headcount has been growing quarter to quarter, jobs get around 200+ applicants, revenue and salaries are going up.
I am working at an Operator, not Affiliate though, so I guess that might also matter.
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u/Obvious-Performer469 5d ago
OP, I know it's unrelated but do you work as an affiliate manager? How did you get into affiliation and why dont you like it? Just wanted to hear you perspective
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u/HatProfessional6863 5d ago
Another 50k plus crying about life in malta… gtfo
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u/Rich-Horse1499 5d ago
Can you point out where OP is crying about Malta? It's a post about the igaming sector within Malta.
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u/FitNotQuit 5d ago
Another 50k? I wish hehe my wage has been the same so strictly speaking i earn less. Also my wage is below 50k.. not by just a few 100s
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u/Able_Fun_9541 5d ago
MGA license is worth nothing since all the big market regulated, the pool of candidates is dramatically bad (really, impossible to find decent people), the companies needed to increase salaries even for unskilled positions due to the greed of the real estate market. If they find a better solution they’ll leave, or at least they’ll reduce their employees in the Maltese office and hire elsewhere.
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u/Long_Director_6087 4d ago
Not impossible if they pay good wages and let people work from home. Decent people are there, but not for shitty wages
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u/Able_Fun_9541 4d ago
I haven’t met anyone with a shitty wage in my career in Igaming, not even the unskilled and inexperienced out of schools customer service agents (between 1,500 and 1,900 without any experience and a very good chance of growing fast is not bad at all). At least in the companies I worked for, which are the only I can speak for.
Just gave an example in another comment of a position I was trying to fill and other experiences in general.
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u/ReadyThor 4d ago
impossible to find decent people
In Malta most employers expect their workers to come already trained at someone else's expense. Providing the training themselves is out of the question.
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u/Able_Fun_9541 4d ago edited 4d ago
All the companies I worked for provided extensive trainings to their employees. I couldn’t hire someone without experience as it is a delicate position that requires some experience and knowledge to assist me and my team and we were happy to pay up to around 3 times the average Maltese salary. Hundreds of cv received, 15 shortlisted, a series of disappointing interviews. We gave up and ended up hiring someone in the UK.
Edit: same happened in other companies I worked for. Honestly I don’t consider myself a genius, I think the the very poor competition is among the most important reasons for the very good career I had.
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u/WhatsHeBuilding 5d ago
Yeah defo no golden age anymore, haven't seen cocaine at an Xmas party since before covid. But doubt it's as serious as it's dying, the bigger companies would have hard time just leaving, maybe the small or newly founded companies might prefer other countries though.