24 Jun
It literally pays to have a career in the booming online gaming industry, according to a survey conducted by gaming recruitment and consulting firm BettingJobs.
The survey aimed to establish the average salary for various roles within the online gaming and poker industry, including CMO, IT and Product position, and Operations Director.
It established the salaries for these roles in eight different areas with a major online gaming presence, which included the UK, Ireland, Malta, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, eastern Europe, mainland Europe and Asia.
BettingJobs Director Fiona Hickey said that the survey showed that various skills and workers were in high demand throughout all regions where the online gaming market was established.
“[The survey] shows an industry which continues to evolve and be shaped by the technology which drives its appeal,” she said.“The channel shift towards mobile has been dramatic and is sure to continue.”
“The online business has to an extent grown up and the career paths within the industry are clearer than they were six years ago.”
There was no one place where online gaming industry salaries were above the rest, but salaries in the UK and its territories were among the highest for most roles.
An average salary for a CMO in the Isle of Man, for instance, was £175,000 (around US$275,530) and £167,000 (around US$262,935) in the UK.
A product director earned an average salary of £179,000 (around US$281,830) in Gibraltar and £160,000 (around US$251,915) in the UK.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the lowest salaries for most of the surveyed roles were in Eastern Europe in Asia, which were as much as half of the amount for the same role in the UK.
However, those salaries are just as, if not more lucrative, than those in the UK or Ireland given the cost of living in some of the cities where online gaming countries operate.
Much of Asia’s online gaming industry, for example, is based in the Filipino capital, Manila, where 1 bedroom apartments can be rented for between US$600 and $1000 per month.
With figures like that in mind, an average US$49,500 for an IT project manager is quite an admirable and lucrative salary in that part of the world.
Average salaries for most skilled workers in the online gaming and poker market is set to increase in the immediate future as the industry continues to grow.
Photo: christopherwink.com
