iGB-Pentasia Salary Survey: Key trends
Read Pentasia managing director Alastair Cleland’s introduction to the 2022 Salary Survey here.
30% pay raises are not out of the question
People are no longer prepared to move jobs for a modest pay rise. Unless they’re genuinely unhappy with their current employer, candidates need serious incentives to explore new opportunities. A growing number of roles can now command increases approaching or exceeding 30%, especially for candidates with three or more years of experience or specialist skills.
Consolidation is rife
The pace of mergers and acquisitions activity in the igaming industry is brisk as suppliers and operators focus on building competitive positioning and broader capabilities. Drivers for M&A are also shifting away from market access and toward acquiring technology, content and talent.
Legislation is driving demand
Regulation is having a significant impact on recruitment as countries either regulate igaming for the first time or, in the case of Germany, reregulate. New markets are creating demand for candidates from across the entire igaming sphere, with compliance and legal experts seeing a significant uplift in salaries where regulations are particularly stringent.
Wanted: Strategic leadership
While the igaming industry includes many of the land-based giants, it’s a relatively young sector with numerous challengers and startups that are now maturing, creating demand for more strategic and C-level roles.
Igaming companies recognise the value that exceptional leadership adds and are increasingly willing to overcompensate, often in the form of bonuses and long-term incentive plans (LTIPs), to ensure they secure the required level of experience.
Remote is the norm
Employers must now pay more to get candidates into the office, even just for one or two days a week. Tech roles have gone almost entirely remote and candidates across all functions expect remote or hybrid options as standard. Remote has also created an environment for ‘geographic standardisation’, where location no longer impacts salary levels.
Will Sawney, head of marketing
An urgent issue for igaming
Igaming has a significant gender diversity problem. Across the industry, just 27% of executives are female, with that rate falling to just 15% at C-level. The gender pay gap further exacerbates the problem; female staff are routinely paid less than their male counterparts.
Achieving greater gender diversity within gaming matters. Why? Well, diverse organisations – and this includes minorities of all kinds – make better decisions and drive stronger business outcomes. Diversity has been proven time and again as a wise business choice.
Gaming’s customer base is also far more balanced than its workforce. According to a YouGov poll, 33% of men and 24% of women in the UK placed a bet last year. Increasing the number of female executives and leaders would improve representation and, surely, deliver better services for this critical demographic.
Pentasia believes strongly that the gender diversity issue within igaming deserves attention. We’re committed to doing something about it and are always open to connecting with ambitious organisations ready to make a change.
Kerry Gillitt, principal consultant, legal & compliance