What does the lesson “Careers in iGaming: Who Does What” cover?

By Vadym Zelinskyi·Practitioner·10 min read·verified 2026-11-04

Careers in iGaming: Who Does What

An online gambling business runs on finance, compliance, technology, marketing, customer and game-maths work, and regulators write down who answers for much of it. This lesson maps those jobs using the rules in Great Britain, Malta and New Jersey, academic research and companies' own filings, and says where background checks and personal licences apply. It is written for adults (18+), gives no salary figures or career advice, and does not promote gambling or suggest it is a way to make money.

Key takeaways

Job titles vary by employer, so regulators' lists make a steadier map. Great Britain names the heads of finance, compliance, marketing, gambling IT and anti-money laundering among the offices that need a personal management licence.
Personal licensing covers some jobs, and the rules differ by country. Britain's functional licence for dealers and cashiers attaches to land-based casino licences, and New Jersey separates licensed key employees from registered casino employees.
Licensed roles can involve criminal-record checks. The Gambling Commission reviews convictions case by case, and not all of them prevent a licence.
The staff mix depends on the business. About 26% of Flutter's 28,518 employees sit in technology, while Evolution says more than 85% of its 22,475 work in operational gaming activities.
This lesson gives no salary figures and no career advice. Below senior-executive level, the regulators' documents and filings it uses do not report pay by job.

By the end you can

Name the senior offices that need a personal management licence in Great Britain, and the key functions Malta sets eligibility rules for.
Describe what compliance, money-laundering, customer-facing, game-maths, testing and trading staff answer for, using regulators' and researchers' own descriptions.
Explain why the staff mix differs between an operator and a live-casino supplier, using each company's filing.
Say when gambling work can involve background checks or a personal licence, and why this lesson gives no salary figures.

Who works in gambling: what the records show

Job titles differ between employers, so this lesson starts from what public records define. The Office for National Statistics counted about 73,000 employees in 'gambling and betting activities' in Great Britain in 2024, a provisional figure. It is one industry code, so it cannot show how many of them work on online products. Company filings show how far the staff mix varies, and each company uses its own categories. Flutter, whose headcount includes shop staff, reported 28,518 employees at the end of 2025. About 7,500 of them (about 26%) sit in its technology function, and about 3,500 focus on software engineering. Evolution, which supplies live-casino and slot games to operators, reported 22,475 employees at the same date. It says more than 85% work in 'operational gaming activities', with game presenters, its on-camera dealers, as the largest group. The two workforces look very different, although both companies work in gambling.

Quick check

What do the Flutter and Evolution filings show when read side by side?

Great Britain: the jobs that need a personal licence

Great Britain's licence conditions define offices by what a person is responsible for. Under condition 1.2.1 of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), each person in one of these offices needs a personal management licence: overall management (likely the chief executive), chair of the board, and the heads of finance, gambling regulatory compliance, marketing, gambling-related IT and anti-money laundering. Managers overseeing a group of premises, or a single casino or bingo site, are covered too. The rule reaches gambling software licensees as well as operators, and small-scale operators are exempt. The head of compliance may not hold another of these offices without the Commission's express approval. A second type, the personal functional licence, covers dealers, cashiers, inspectors, security staff watching gaming and gaming supervisors. Condition 1.2.2 applies it to non-remote (land-based) casino licences. Neither condition names developers, data analysts or customer-support advisers, although the head of gambling IT is named.

Quick check

What extra limit does condition 1.2.1 place on the head of gambling regulatory compliance?

Malta and New Jersey: similar jobs, different labels

Malta calls these roles key functions and their holders key persons. Holders need a certificate from the Malta Gaming Authority, which assesses their fitness and propriety. Its Key Functions page sets eligibility for roles including the chief executive, management of operations, compliance, legal affairs, data protection officer, money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), technological affairs and internal audit. The operations holder must know payment, risk management and fraud prevention procedures. Responsible gaming is not listed as its own role: compliance applicants must know those obligations, along with advertising and, where applicable, sports integrity. Compliance applicants need two years in a compliance-related role plus a related degree, or four years without one, then 10 hours of professional development a year. New Jersey divides staff differently. Casino key employees supervise or make discretionary decisions, and include pit bosses, marketing directors and IT managers. Certain internet-gaming and sports-pool staff need the same licence. Other gaming staff may register instead, and non-management jobs unrelated to gaming activity typically do not require a licence.

Compliance, money laundering and customer-facing teams

In Britain, money-laundering duties attach to named people. The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require a casino to appoint a nominated officer, a role similar to Malta's MLRO, who weighs staff reports and decides whether they give grounds for suspicion. Where its size and nature make it appropriate, a casino must also appoint a senior officer responsible for compliance with the Regulations. Under condition 1.2.1 both are likely to need a personal management licence, and at other licensees so does anyone appointed to submit such reports. Customer-facing work carries duties too. The Commission's guidance for online operators says relevant staff should be trained at induction and by refresher to spot signs of harm and to escalate, including what to do if a customer becomes distressed or there is a risk of suicide. Online operators' support staff must be trained in secondary identity checks for age verification. Marketing teams are affected as well: where strong indicators of harm appear, operators must prevent marketing and new bonus offers.

Game maths, testing and trading

Game maths is written down in design documents. Harrigan and Dixon (2009) obtained them for four Ontario slot games: PAR sheets (probability accounting reports), which hold the hit frequency, payback percentage and odds of winning. Designers kept the highest-paying and special symbols fixed and changed how often the others appear, producing 85.0% and 96.2% versions of one game. In Britain, makers of remote gambling software must use a test house accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, which sets requirements for the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of laboratories. The house must stay independent of licensed operators and have someone answering for strategy, finance, compliance, technical work, quality control and information security. Trading sets sports prices. New Jersey's sports-wagering rules, adopted in 2019, make a 'sports pool manager' responsible for operations and final approval of all odds. Levitt (2004), studying one NFL season, found bookmakers announce a price, adjust it little and take large positions on results. Britain's LCCP says betting firms should bar staff from using irregular-betting information for their own bets.

Quick check

Under the New Jersey sports-wagering rules adopted in 2019, who is responsible for final approval of all odds?

Background checks, licence costs and what this lesson leaves out

Gambling work can require background checks and, in some jobs, a personal licence. In Great Britain you must be 18 or over to apply for a personal management licence. It has cost £463 to apply since 1 October 2026, processing can take up to 8 weeks, and the licence must be renewed every 5 years. You declare any convictions, and the Commission runs criminal-record checks, with overseas police and credit evidence from some people who have lived abroad. Not all convictions prevent a licence; each is reviewed case by case. Holders must report events such as a criminal investigation within 10 working days. British casinos must, where appropriate, screen relevant employees for skills, conduct and integrity. Malta asks key-function applicants for a police conduct certificate. New Jersey fingerprints key-licence applicants, who file five years of tax returns. This lesson gives no salary figures: apart from senior executives' pay in annual reports, its sources do not report pay by job, and recruiter or job-board figures fall outside this course's source rule.

Key terms

Personal Management Licence (PML)Key Person Licence Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)Nominated Officer Game Presenter PAR Sheet Game Certification Trading (Sportsbook)

Check yourself

Check yourself · 1/4

Which of these is named in Great Britain's condition 1.2.1 as an office that needs a personal management licence?

Check yourself · 2/4

Which licences does Great Britain's personal functional licence condition (1.2.2) apply to?

Check yourself · 3/4

Where do responsible gaming obligations sit on the Malta Gaming Authority's list of key functions?

Check yourself · 4/4

Why does this lesson give no salary figures?

Next → Step up to the professional tier with “Risk of Ruin & Bankroll Maths”.

Go deeper

Sources (14)

Verified 2026-11-04 · next review 2027-11-04 · high confidence

Fact-checks (14)

Great Britain employment: Office for National Statistics, Business Register and Employment Survey on Nomis, code 92000 'Gambling and betting activities', Great Britain, 73,000 employees in 2024 (provisional results released 28 October 2025). This is the only employment series used: the Gambling Commission's Industry Statistics of 17 September 2026 give no employment table.
Flutter Entertainment plc, Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025 (signed 26 February 2026): '28,518 employees across 27 countries', including 'head office and retail colleagues'; 'Approximately 7,500' in the technology function, 'approximately 3,500' focused on software engineering. Calculation: 7,500 / 28,518 = 26.3%. These are Flutter's own figures.
Evolution AB, Annual Report 2025 (published 1 April 2026): 22,475 employees at 31 December 2025 (16,243 full-time equivalents); 'More than 85 percent of our workforce work in operational gaming activities' and 'game presenters being our largest professional group'; 'a game presenter, i.e. dealer, runs the game'. These are Evolution's own figures.
UK Gambling Commission, Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), version effective from 29 July 2026: condition 1.2.1 lists the specified management offices, bars the head of compliance from another office without express approval, and exempts small-scale operators; condition 1.2.2 applies personal functional licences to non-remote casino licences; SR code 3.2.11 requires training of customer services staff on secondary identification; SR code 3.4.3 requires operators to prevent marketing and new bonus offers where strong indicators of harm are identified; ordinary code 7.1.3 covers employees and irregular betting; Part 3 requires personal licence holders to report listed events within 10 working days.
UK Gambling Commission, Personal Management Licence guide, showing fees in effect from 1 October 2026: £463 to apply, age 18 or over, up to 8 weeks to process, renewal every 5 years, Disclosure and Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland checks, overseas police and credit evidence, and 'Not all convictions will prevent you from getting a licence'.
Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, regulation 21 (legislation.gov.uk, up to date to 1 November 2026): appointment of a responsible officer and screening of relevant employees 'Where appropriate with regard to the size and nature of its business', a nominated officer under paragraph (3), and the officer's duty under paragraph (5).
UK Gambling Commission, Customer interaction guidance for remote gambling licensees (formal guidance under SR code 3.4.3, last updated 30 August 2023): paragraph 4.5 expects staff training 'at induction as well as refresher training', and paragraph 8.15 covers 'what to do if a customer becomes distressed or there is a risk of suicide'.
Malta Gaming Authority, Key Functions page (page metadata shows it was modified on 10 September 2026): roles and eligibility requirements, including two years' experience in a compliance-related role with a related degree, or four years without one, annual continuing professional development of 10 hours for compliance, a certified 'police conduct certificate', and fitness and propriety assessed 'primarily on integrity, honesty and reputation, and competence and capability'.
New Jersey Casino Control Commission, Licensing Information and Reports: who needs a Casino Key Employee License, including certain internet gaming and sports pool employees; 'Non-management jobs that have nothing to do with gaming activity' typically need no licence; fingerprinting and five years of tax returns on application.
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, full text of the sports wagering rule adoption, N.J.A.C. 13:69N, published in October 2019: definition of 'Sports pool manager' in 13:69N-1.1 and individual licensing or registration in 13:69N-1.5. The Division's page points to a LexisNexis service for the current code, which was not checked, so later amendments cannot be ruled out; the lesson therefore dates this rule to 2019.
UK Gambling Commission, Applying for Test House approval (last updated 11 December 2023): accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 'is mandatory for a Test House', operators making remote gambling software 'must use an appropriately accredited Test House', a test house must be independent of licensed operators, and the page lists the key positions relevant to an application. ISO's catalogue page for ISO/IEC 17025:2017 says the standard 'sets out requirements for the competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of laboratories'. The standard itself is a paid document, so its clauses are not quoted here.
Harrigan & Dixon (2009), Journal of Gambling Issues 23: 81-110, peer-reviewed: PAR sheets for four Ontario slot games, obtained under Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; the 85.0% and 96.2% versions of Lobstermania differ in low-paying symbols.
Levitt, NBER Working Paper 9422 (January 2003), published as 'Why Are Gambling Markets Organised So Differently From Financial Markets?', Economic Journal 114(495), 2004, 223-246: 'bookmakers announce a price, after which adjustments are small and infrequent', and they 'take large positions with respect to the outcome of game'. The data cover one NFL season, so this is evidence from one market.
Salaries: no pay figures are given. The Office for National Statistics publishes earnings for gambling and betting as a whole (ASHE Table 16, 22 October 2026), which does not separate jobs within the industry, so it is not used here.

Back to Learn →

Get the iGamer Briefing

A short, cited email when something in iGaming changes — plus one fundamental worth understanding. Independent, 18+, no hype.