The archipelago of Malta sits in the Mediterranean Sea, a paradise in Europe that has been a focus of many civilisations from eras gone by. Romans, the French and the British have all made the island their own, with the likes Napoleon and Churchill all playing a part of its history – along with Ridley Scott recreating the Colosseum on the island for his 2000 movie masterpiece, Gladiator.
It is a drop of sunshine filled with history, ruins…. and gambling. These days, the island of Malta is populated by gambling companies (particularly iGaming), which has made it one of the world hubs for the industry and a place that generally thrives from the tax revenue gained from it.
The impact that gambling has had on Malta can be seen in the vast real estate that has been built since the gaming companies began to take root, as well as the restaurants and bars that make a living from the people that go there for industry purposes.
It is estimated that three quarters of the commercial rental market is taken up by the iGaming industry, which has had a huge impact across the island republic. Now, the value of residential homes have tripled in some regions, as the past 20 years of legalisation (which came in 2004) have seen many iGaming company’s workers flock to Malta.
Those people that work for the iGaming companies have (in large part) come to like the aforementioned sunshine, movie sets, ruins and restaurants that comprise life in the Med – and don’t want to leave.
That has meant there is an iGaming recruitment market that has evolved to exist in an ever-spinning circle, which sees people move from one gaming company to another in search of better wages, a bigger role and so forth. That ecosystem, if you will, existed in a measured harmony for almost two decades – then, the great malady of the age swept across the world and things changed.
Covid-19’s impact has become a mark on the calendar, a before and after that can now be used as a measuring stick for how times have changed when compared to the pre-pandemic times.
Culture of Maltese gaming employment
It’s been just over a year since Malta lifted the last of its remaining Covid restrictions (which happened in August 2022) and the island of Malta fully reopened to the world – in that time since, the culture of the Maltese gambling employment market has changed.
According to Chanelle Demanuele, a Recruitment Manager at Exacta, who spoke exclusively to Gambling Insider, the flexibility of the new working world – where hybrid and working-from-home has become the new norm – is becoming key.
Demanuele stated: “The Maltese gambling employment market has undergone quite a transformation following the end of Covid restrictions. Several factors have contributed to this change, predominantly because many employees have become used to flexibility with the foremost being the growing preference for flexibility among the workforces.
“A noteworthy trend, particularly evident in technical departments, has been the decision by certain candidates to transition into fully remote roles. This shift, however, is not just confined to technical departments, we have seen an increase in parents who have adapted to the convenience of working from home several times a week.”
“The allowance of remote work opportunities has become increasingly imperative for companies. Many employees now actively seek such flexibility in determining the extent to which they need to work from a physical office location.”
Furthermore, Sofia Castelbranco – Head of People Development and HR at Betting Connections – added her voice to the conversation by agreeing with Demanuele and gave her perspective on how people have embraced a new way of working.
“People have now fully embraced either hybrid or fully remote set-ups, allowing for broader employee mobility and opening up pools of candidates that were previously not considered as they were not able to work from the company’s offices.
“This has of course also changed the motivations and requirements from an employee point of view as well – the world is now their ‘oyster’ so to speak, allowing them to work from almost anywhere, as long as they commit to core hours or delivering on pre-established goals.”
Speaking further on the subject, Jennifer Innes and John O’Neill, CEO and Director of BettingJobs respectively, also discussed the impact of Brexit: “Not only has the culture of the Maltese gambling employment market been impacted by Covid restrictions, but it has also been impacted by Brexit. For example, it is now much more difficult for UK nationals to move overseas to countries such as Malta.”
Not only has the culture of the Maltese gambling employment market been impacted by Covid restrictions, but it has also been impacted by Brexit. For example, it is now much more difficult for UK nationals to move overseas to countries such as Malta
Malta was, of course, a British territory before gaining independence in 1964 – with one of its official languages being English – so, the drastic drop off of British people that can easily go and work in Malta has had an impact.
Company retention
In Malta, company retention has always been tough – as the fierce gaming competitors can quickly identify new talent and bring those people in, what with the industry there being close-knit. So, looking at the market on the island now, how has this changed?
Castelbranco began by raising the point of how companies have adapted to the impact of the pandemic, stating: “Candidates have now fully understood the importance of flexibility and going back to the old set-up is something that most are not willing to do.
“We see a trend, companies that have acknowledged, embraced and made the best of the whole pandemic situation are in a way better place to retain their talent than the ones who went back to the old ways.”
Talking about the subject themselves, Innes and O’Neill added: “When speaking with Malta-based candidates and clients it is apparent that company retention has improved since 2020. There are a variety of reasons for this, but among the most prominent is a lack of roles available in Malta.
“We have seen a small decline in the number of Malta-based vacancies coming through over the past year, meaning there is fewer opportunities and motivators for workers to change their employer on the island.”
It appears the issue of company retention has become less impactful for gaming companies in Malta, a point highlighted when looking at why Malta’s vacancies have dropped, with Innes and O’Neill stating: “Since working-from-home policies and flexible working arrangements became more widely available and are almost standard practice after Covid, worker satisfaction has since improved and more employees are now choosing to remain with their current employers.”
This was backed up by Demanuele: “Employees recognised and appreciated the enduring value of their respective company cultures in such challenging environments.
“Conversely, companies that struggled to navigate these restrictions, both pandemic-related and those introduced to their employees’ work-life balance, faced challenges in regard to staff retention. Nonetheless, the prevailing trend suggests an overall improvement in company retention rates.”
We have seen a small decline in the number of Malta-based vacancies coming through over the past year, meaning there is fewer opportunities and motivators for workers to change their employer on the island
Has there been an increase in compliance officials?
In looking at how this has changed things for Malta, Innes and O’Neill highlighted how the demand for compliance officials has risen in 2023 so far. “Evidence based on our own statistics shows the number of compliance placements made during the first half of 2023 compared with the second half of 2022 has increased overall.
“However, there has been a slight decrease in the number of Malta-based compliance placements made during the first half of 2023 compared with the second half of 2022.
“On the other hand, there has been an uptick in the number of UK compliance placements made during the first half of 2023 compared with the second half of 2022. We believe this largely coincides with the UK Gambling White Paper, published earlier in 2023.”
Meanwhile, Castelbranco also stated that the need for compliance officials has also increased for regions outside the UK: “With the implementation of GDPR guidelines and the specific and growing legal and compliance requirements coming from the efforts of each country to ensure gambling is a fully regulated activity, compliance officials have become an increasingly sought after resource for companies who, not only wish to avoid penalties deriving from their activity but also want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to good practices.”
The trend continues to be an internal rotation with occasional talent coming in. The iGaming industry requires quite a unique set of skills and experience that Is very niche and hard to find
Rotation of people working for multiple gaming companies
The retention of employees in Malta’s gaming industry has had a direct effect on the rotation of employees, as would seem obvious. As people have started to gain flexibility in their current roles, the need to jump ship for a more fluid working environment has diminished.
Demanuele alluded to this in her comments: “There has been a subtle decline in such movements. This decrease can be attributed to several factors, predominantly driven by the contentment of employees who, having performed well and gained a certain degree of flexibility within their current roles, are less inclined to seek employment with other companies.”
The Recruitment Manager then shone a light on how important it is for employees to have a more manageable working schedule, showing that flexibility has become a major factor for modern companies that want to retain their staff in Malta.
“The value of this flexibility often surpasses considerations such as salary increments. However, those companies that are not offering such flexibility, have experienced some rotation as these individuals seek out opportunities with organisations that offer this benefit.”
However, Castelbranco did note that the rotation trend does tend to continue to some degree, because of the niche skillset required to work in Malta’s iGaming industry. “The trend continues to be an internal rotation with occasional talent coming in. The iGaming industry requires quite a unique set of skills and experience that is very niche and hard to find.”
Meanwhile, Innes and O’Neill added: “There has been various mergers and acquisitions on the island in recent years which has led to a higher number of redundancies.”
Covid’s impact on Malta has affected the largest change in the iGaming employment landscape since the companies first started arriving on the island two-decades ago. It is becoming less common for people to play the game of stick or twist, where the iGaming industry on the island continually switches around. Instead, companies have adapted since the pandemic in keeping employees happy and giving them flexibility within their work lives.
Employment trends
Turning to the subject of employment trends, Demanuele, Castelbranco, Innes and O’Neill all agreed that less people are relocating to Malta for work.
Demanuele highlighted the trends seen in the last three years: “Preceding Covid, Malta had witnessed a decade-long surge in foreign talent relocating to the country, a trend that persisted from around 2010 to 2019.
“However, the onset of the pandemic brought about a transformation in the preferences of job seekers. It has become apparent that fewer individuals are inclined to relocate to Malta for employment opportunities.”
Demanuele then expanded on why this has happened since the virus struck: “There has been a growing interest in remote work arrangements, even if it entails working from a different country altogether. As a result, many companies are offering remote work whether it is from the same country or not.”
Innes and O’Neill went further on this trend, showing that Malta’s remote working model has become a way of retaining staff – although employers are still trying to get people that are already based on the island.
“A direct consequence of the continuation of remote working has allowed for more opportunities to secure work in other countries worldwide, therefore it only makes sense there wouldn’t be as many people moving to Malta for work.
“But, clients are seeking talent already based in Malta, as opposed to remote workers or those who reside elsewhere but are willing to travel to the island.”
Castelbranco, meanwhile, pushed the cost-of-living crisis that has hit much of the world in 2023. “I believe we are all aware that the cost of living has increased on all fronts and Malta is not an exception.
“What was a fairly reasonable yearly salary for instance for an entry level customer support agent ten years ago is no longer enough to withstand the costs of housing, plus the day-to-day expenses so that makes it harder to attract talent that was before motivated by the low cost of life and sunshine in Malta.”
STICK OR TWIST
Malta’s stick or twist employment market is at the point where the twisting has rapidly slowed down and everybody is staying put.
In Malta, the advent of August 2022 – when all the Covid restrictions were ended by the Republic’s Government – marked the start of a new age, one where companies had to become (and stay) more flexible; both in keeping current employees happy and in understanding that it is now harder to attract new people to move to Malta on a permanent basis.
It is a sea change, a moment forever marked in the calendar. Malta’s iGaming market has thrived in the past 20 years, as the practice has grown and grown across Europe and beyond – now, however, what made people move to Malta to play the stick or twist game is no longer what keeps them there.
The iGaming industry on the island has become an entrenched part of the country’s economy and it has (in large part because of the impact of covid, which has sped up the process) reached the stage of consolidation.
People are staying put, companies are offering terms that keep people in place and (thanks to Brexit) it is harder to get some candidates to Malta without incurring additional costs. Malta is now a place where those that are there, stay – and where companies would (generally) rather offer work remotely to people, than to bring them in as part of the iGaming island gang.
Malta is now a place where those that are there, stay – and where companies would (generally) rather offer work remotely to people, than to bring them in as part of the iGaming island gang
