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Think working in online gaming might be fun? Do you tinker in software development? How about customer service? Would you like to sit in a room dominated by big-screen TVs and approve line changes and prop bets for sporting events like football, hockey, and rugby? Well, online gaming might be for you!
Online gambling has a lot going for it. Unlike typical casino-related jobs, there isn’t a ton of noise from slot machines, billows of smoke stretching as far as the watering eye can see, or crowds of screaming people.
In fact, online gaming can be easily compared to an office job in IT, because that’s where many of the needs are. Or you might be looking for an exciting position where you can rub elbows with known gamblers. Both desires can be met through online companies that specialize in gaming.
Whether you are job hunting or hoping the deposit you made online is good, the fact is that online gaming is big business. As a player myself, I do worry about the viability of the online companies I deal with. There’s nothing worse than winning a poker tournament or a big slot jackpot and having to sweat for six weeks, waiting for payment.
To that end, I have one simple rule. I only play at established sites that have reasonable gaming licenses and that I can find information about online. It’s my little safety net, but it’s easy to find reputable sites.
Who Can You Trust?
Trust isn’t easy to come by, and it’s even harder to hold onto. Mostly, I trust companies that are large and have been around a long time.
The largest online gaming company has roots in Reno, Nevada. Of course, I may be stretching the truth a little there, but that’s all right because International Gaming Technology is involved in all aspects of gambling, from software design to slot machine design and manufacturing, and their stretch includes online properties.
IGT was founded in 1990 from a series of companies that sold slot machines, mostly in Nevada. The company had offices in Las Vegas, Sparks, and Reno, Nevada, and grew to be the world’s largest slot manufacturer.
Since that time, they have acquired/merged with Gtech for a total of $6.4 billion. The resulting company is now International Game Technology PLC, based in the United Kingdom. IGT continues to lead the world in slot machine manufacturing and is heavily into lotteries and interactive social gaming.
The social gaming aspects stem from prolific software research and design and the acquisition of Double Down Casino (yeah, that one you first saw on Facebook). IGT paid $500 million for the company in February 2012 and was immediately scolded by executives from other companies and stockholders who were angered by the high price paid.
Analysts have since changed their tune, and the purchase price now seems small, at least to us mere mortals in the financial community. But what does this all mean for people who might want to work in online gaming?
Well, IGT has offices in more than 100 countries. It has more job positions than you probably ever imagined, from accounting and finance to corporate strategy to software design and IT, system engineering, security, and even aviation.
No matter what you are looking for, there is probably something for you at IGT. Their workforce is over 12,000 strong, and the company recorded nearly $5 billion in revenue last year.
Is that a lot? Well, Caesars Entertainment, which encompasses the Harrah’s casino brand and nearly 50 land-based casinos, had almost identical revenue this past year.
Now if you weren’t really interested in a huge corporation like IGT and were thinking about smaller online casinos, well, don’t stop reading; I’m getting to them. It’s just that there are so many, and I’m easily distracted when presented with hundreds of possibilities. Perhaps you are, too. So, lets narrow things down a bit.
Online Casinos
There are countless places to play free games online, like Zynga, Slotomania, and of course, Double Down. Social gaming is said to be a $3 to $4 billion a year industry now. That’s because you have to buy chips you can’t spend anywhere, but players hit their computers and phones for the same reasons they hit land-based casinos. They want social interaction, mental stimulation, and relaxation.
Players also say they gamble for stress relief. Personally, I’m confused about how much relief there is in staring at a slot machine for hours. Still, there’s probably some pretty good relief in finding a job you love.
And if you like casinos, gaming, customer service, software design and implementation, or marketing, an online casino company might be just right for you.
One of the most recognizable names in poker and gaming is the World Series of Poker. Although the WSOP started at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Caesars (Harrah’s) now owns the brand, and boy, do they market it.
Harrah’s started in Reno, Nevada, about 75 years ago, and Caesars Interactive Entertainment runs the WSOP site. The website, governed by Nevada law, allows free poker games and tournaments. Yes, you can buy additional chips. And for residents of Nevada, there are even live, cash, all-online WSOP tournaments this year!
The games are run by Playtika.com, and they have a host of jobs they are currently filling, from HR to finance, graphic design, customer research, marketing, and many more. And they have offices all over the world.
PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker room and is headquartered on the Isle of Man. They originally designed their own games but recently had a merger with Microgaming, a software designer also based on the Isle of Man. They continue to make a dominant portion of the gaming software used today.
PokerStars also has a host of live poker tournaments held all over the world. They run PokerStars TV to televise their events and have many hosts and marketers, mostly in Europe. They market heavily and have many openings in marketing, customer service, and were recently looking for AI engineers. Interesting.
Because they host live tournaments, there are jobs available that involve live poker and location marketing. Travel is a must, but wages are reasonable to excellent for popular spokespersons at these events and on PokerStars TV.
Personally, I played on several poker sites where I had issues ranging from hang-ups and screen freezes to trouble cashing out. I never had issues with big names like Casino 888, Party Poker, or PokerStars. PokerStars is owned by The Stars Group, and its logo/name is commonly written as a single word, PokerStars.
Online and Local Jobs
Several United Kingdom companies run online casinos and offer Turf accounts or sports wagering. William Hill plc is a bookmaker based in London, England, that employs more than 17,000 people. Many of them work in local turf accounts and bookie shops. They are known for sponsoring horse races.
In Nevada, William Hill has more than 100 betting locations, most inside previously-existing casinos. In some cases, workers in Nevada sportsbooks are employees of the casino, not William Hill. In others, William Hill is the boss and hires their ticket writers and managers. Want to work in a legal sportsbook? Jobs are available.
And William Hill offers jobs in divisions across the globe. The UK and US are heavily dependent on local employees. In the US, jobs include legal, HR, customer service, data support, technology, and trading.
If you think trading is stocks and bonds, well, that’s not so at William Hill. They run teams of employees that set game odds, shift lines as bets are made, and use current knowledge about what’s happening in sports to made line adjustments.
It ain’t like old-time bookies! Not at William Hill. If you work in trading, you watch your computer, make notes, and scan dozens of TV screens showing football, cricket, baseball, and tennis. Yeah, it’s a real job, and if you’re good at it, the pay is excellent!
Digital sportsbooks need traders, managers, and analysts, too. Many jobs are local-based, but more and more online casinos are hiring digital employees who can work out of their own offices or just from the comforts of home. Ever think about working in your jammies? This might be an option for you.
What to Expect with a Digital Job
Online gaming can offer you jobs in a wide variety of locations and in almost any particular field you enjoy. And the ability to work from home is a real plus for many employees. Depending on your job description, you may be able to sleep in, work when you want, and be a full- or part-time employee.
The most common jobs that require no commute involve customer service, digital marketing, and analytics. Many companies employ software designers who work at a local office and home or travel to specific branches on a regular basis.
Customer service jobs easily done from home include chat hosts who are tied to an online casino’s support system and can view accounts. They answer questions, point players to banking and withdrawal options, and know the games and betting parameters very well.
Tech-savvy employees can do tech support as a remote job. Want to stay home and get your pay deposited directly to your bank account? It’s pretty cool.
Those of you on top of social media and digital marketing can find jobs that require little to no office time and can be done from the comfort of your sofa or a lounge chair at the pool. All you need is a laptop to connect to your online servers.
Reasonable wages that may become more attractive as you factor in a very short commute or no commute if you work remotely. You can also set your hours (within reason) for many online casinos since they are flexible and run 24/7.
At the office, you are going to find some people that handle their jobs with almost no regard for the fact that they work for a gaming company. That’s all right. You’ll also find plenty of gaming-happy people that were attracted to their jobs because it was with a gaming company. It’s all good.
Larger companies have core groups of people that travel, especially in marketing departments. If you specialize in marketing, you may be expected to do road shows, events, exhibits, and to travel to newly-opened jurisdictions. Personally, that’s right up my alley, although I try to stay out of alleys most of the time now. Live and learn.
Live Dealer Online Casinos
It may seem like a contradiction, but some online casinos hire dealers so that they can offer live action. It’s expensive to offer live games, so most online casinos rely on digital or virtual gaming. That’s not a bad thing, but there’s always that nagging feeling that something isn’t right when you play virtual blackjack and lose 8 out of 10 hands.
But weird things happen. I watched a guy on a craps game roll 12, three straight times. The odds of that happening is about 45,000 to 1 against.
On the other hand, the odds of hitting a royal flush at video poker are about the same, and I’ve hit a lot of royals. Yes, even online.
Oh yeah, back to live dealers. So, some online casinos hire live dealers to improve their gaming action. That requires a bunch of dealers since most casinos go 24/7 because they have players around the world. And having live games like Sic Bo, roulette, blackjack, and baccarat require a cameraman and tech support.
And there must be offices, a sound room, a casino floor, cameras, and a manager or pit boss to oversee the games. These casinos have “chat” functions so you can talk to the dealers, or the pit boss, if there is a problem. That’s all good.
Some of the properties even have a “tip” function so that you can give a little cash to the dealer. That’s good if you are working as a dealer but won’t improve your odds as a player!
I have to admit that I find the games much slower than the virtual offerings, but there is more realism and at least a slightly comforting feeling that the games are fair. These live dealer casinos demand more from the local licensing agencies, but overall results are audited by independent groups, too.
That’s always a good thing. I want to be able to trust the sites I gamble with, and if I were to work for them, I’d also want the best safeguards in place for the players.
Dealer and pit boss jobs at land-based casinos may look like a lot of fun, even glamorous, but they are just jobs. Casino workers have the same good and bad days that people in other professions have.
They struggle to get to work on time, have customer service issues, and can’t wait for their next break to roll around. As is often said in casinos, “If you don’t believe people can come back from the dead, you should be here at the end of the shift.”
The days come and go, but the slots, the table games, and the work never ends. In the long run, having a job, whether it’s in fashion, retail, or entertainment, will always be most pleasant if you love it.
You can find online casino jobs by checking hiring sites or just entering the company’s name and clicking on “careers.” And you’ll be amazed at how many choices you have. Just make sure you pick something you really love to do. Then, it’s off to the races!
