One of the betting industry’s premier recruitment consultancy, Bettingjobs.com active in the iGaming sector for almost two decades, remains optimistic for the post-Covid19 period according to managing director Chris Miller. In this exclusive interview he tells Gamblerspost that during the Covid19 pandemic he confirmed how resilient the industry is, how it always finds a way to reinvent itself, and that he expects this will be the case again.
– Chris, thank you for your time! We’re slowly entering the post-Covid19 period. How did the pandemic affect your business plans?
Chris: It certainly hit us quickly, even though we could see how it was developing rapidly in Italy and then Spain. First consideration was the safety of our team and their families so we acted fast as our #1 priority. Like everyone, we had to make business projections on how it would affect us but with no precedent. However, understanding the market and having gone through several rounds of turbulence previously as far as our sector is concerned, we feel well-equipped to see it through and come out the other end in a strong position.
– Was this unfortunate period your biggest challenge, or you use this lockdown period to focus on something else? Could you share your plans to face this challenge?
Chris: Good question. I would say yes from the perspective that we have had to adapt to the lockdown period and also many of our clients pausing their recruitment to see what the future brings. We are fortunate in that many of our clients are still pushing ahead with hiring so for us it’s full focus on delivering for them.
– Every era has its own wind of change. What do you feel is changing during those past couple of years in the iGaming job market?
Chris: I’m trying to avoid giving the standard answers about the US market opening up and the regulatory trends in European markets. Certainly, they have had a huge impact in the last couple of years (and for our business a positive impact) but for me, without question, it’s interesting to consider what the sector may look like post-Covid19 in terms of travel, a candidate’s ability or willingness to relocate abroad, the potential impact of a recession if it takes hold and the knock on effects of all of this. It sounds grim but from a positive perspective, in my 15 years in the industry I have saw first hand the resilience of the sector and it always finds a way to reinvent itself. I fully expect this will be the case again.
– During this digital age and in this iGaming industry, what sets you apart from the competition?
Chris: I would say for me personally that it’s taking pride in the industry respecting the service that we provide. I’m not naive to the fact that it’s very easy to obtain a poor reputation in what we do and difficult to achieve a positive one. I wholeheartedly believe we have achieved the latter and I’m very proud of my colleagues present & past for our team effort over the years.
I only ever speak for ourselves and our own approach. When we set out to do this we wanted to become a partner that clients were happy to do business with, who would be happy to pick up the phone to us, who would recognise our efforts and see the value in what we do. This can only be achieved through consistently focusing on delivery, maintaining a high level of professionalism at all times, and always striving to improve. All of these points are essentially our foundations as a business.
– What are your plans for 2020 and beyond?
Chris: For 2020, it’s keeping pushing as hard as possible through the turbulent times we are in. It is the fighters who survive these periods in time and we are well-set in this sense. I see it quite simply as being organised, fast, accurate, and delivery-focused, so that we exit this period in a strong position. Beyond this, I hope to see a return of our fantastic growth trajectory in recent years once again (we were on course for our biggest ever month when lockdown hit). We also have a new US office with which the timelines on the start of our lease coincided with lockdown so whilst that was bad luck, it only serves to motivate me further to develop our US presence from our New Jersey base. All of this while continuing to serve our clients everywhere else worldwide.
– How much potential is there for growth, and in which markets is the scope the greatest?
Chris: Realistically, this year is out for growth. I think that’s obvious. However, the impact so far has been much better commercially than we forecasted so I take that as a very positive sign of the health of our business and the industry as a whole. It makes me proud that we work with such progressive clients who are taking the situation in their stride and pushing ahead with ambitious plans. I do fully expect that 2021 will be a strong year and we are already planning. Market-wise, again, the US is the obvious answer and we certainly have big ambitions there but Africa is also very much on our radar, as are Asia and LATAM. With that said, Europe remains our biggest focus and we certainly won’t be letting new market opportunities divert our attention from our clients here.
I mentioned earlier about the industry’s resilience. Whilst I can see a period of turbulence and contraction, the industry always finds a way to adapt. I see more focus in emerging markets, more M&A, and more hubs opening up. In the last few years, regions like Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Baltics and Balkans have grown in prominence as industry hubs.
I can see more of this without question. From a recruitment perspective, it was historically very difficult to relocate people to these areas but the more they grow in prominence, the more people are willing to embrace the opportunities that exist there. I definitely foresee more new hubs opening up with significant career opportunities as a consequence.