The iGaming industry has consistently put a spotlight on diversity and inclusion in recent years, moving away from limiting itself to only talents with experience in the gaming industry, and beginning to welcome young blood from different backgrounds. Earlier this year, Pentasia presented their recommendations for a more diverse and inclusive environment in the gaming industry at the ICE London panel discussion, where they emphasized that the key initial step would be to delve into the extensive gaming industry management database to understand how companies are approaching the issue.

Pentasia made it clear in the presentation that, “We’re not looking only for people with experience in gaming, but those who demonstrate enthusiasm and interest in a wide range of things.” While this may seem like an obvious point of view, given the long history of an issue with gender diversity in the gaming industry, it is unlikely to change unless companies are willing to hire people with no experience in the gaming industry.
Fortunately, thanks to the strong support of Alastair Cleland, Pentasia’s Managing Director of Recruitment for the iGaming industry, there are an increasing number of gaming companies that are beginning to embrace this concept. He said, “We've been receiving a lot of requests lately from mid-sized and tier one gaming companies to provide them with a more diverse roster of candidates.” He added: “When we receive such requests, we usually advise recruiters to consider a wider range of candidates from outside the gaming industry, and in most cases, those companies are generally receptive to this idea”.

Likewise, Andrea Talreja, Head of Human Resources at QiH Group, holds a similar view. “For roles involving regulatory control or compliance issues, it's important to have a foundation of industry knowledge, especially in the ever-changing legal landscape of the UK,” said Talreja. Yet she added, “But there are some roles, such as digital marketing, where experience in other industries can also be an unexpected bonus.” She also finds that this innovative perspective not only helps to improve stereotypical gender ratios in the workplace, but also brings a new way of thinking to the company.

Nevertheless, adopting such a diverse approach to recruitment has not been easy, and the issues needed to be taken care of during the actual recruiting process are often more than expected. Both Cleland and Talreja said that when recruiting in the iGaming industry, male applicants tend to make up the majority of the pool, thus making it more time-consuming and difficult to assemble a diverse roster of applicants.

This recruitment process often involves headhunting and a complex selection process utilizing various referral channels and social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Despite the tedious process, the results can be beneficial not only to the employer, but also to the new recruits who will be better suited to the job.
A case in point is Anna Mackenzie, a data engineer at Pythia Sports, a predictive sports modeling and data collection company. Mackenzie initially went into investment banking in the U.K. after earning her Engineering Science degree in 2017, but she soon realized she lacked enthusiasm for the industry and decided to go back to school to learn more about programming. Meanwhile, she drew on her particular passion for equestrianism, using equestrian data to develop her modeling skills. Eventually, she was headhunted because of her special expertise in both data engineering and equestrianism.

Mackenzie is also a member of the group “Women in Data Science”. In this organization, she meets with young female job seekers interested in entering the sports betting field, helping them find the right position, providing career advice and creating a positive cycle for the industry.

According to Talreja of QiH Group, as more women enter the gaming industry, there are more opportunities to attract other diverse job seekers. Once the gender ratio within the company reaches a reasonable level (QiH Group's workforce is currently close to gender-balanced), the company will be able to demonstrate that its workplace culture is diverse and inclusive. As a result, more candidates from various backgrounds will be attracted to join in, thereby bringing more different perspectives and creativity to the industry, which is sure to be a brand-new benefit to the iGaming industry as it moves towards a more diversified future.