According to the latest industry news, gambling is a highly competitive sector. To succeed, casino and sports betting businesses have to run like a well-oiled machine. This article will give you a blueprint for building a team that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
A successful project is based on a professional team
The success of both online and land-based casinos depends on the teams that drive them. It takes time and money to start and develop a gambling project, but the whole effort can be easily ruined if a single factor goes wrong: a poor reputation, lackluster customer service, or low-quality products and services can all spell doom for the gambling business. To maintain the quality of their reputation, products, and services — and constantly improve them — both online and offline project operators hire professional teams to handle the problems that inevitably arise.
Successful recruitment gives you the opportunity to entrust your casino to professionals who can lead the way. Instead of wasting time ironing out every wrinkle in your daily operations, free up time for planning, strategizing, and development by gathering people who can handle daily processes and problem-solving for you. Slotegrator has plenty of experience to share, which can give you a better understanding of what departments your company should consist of.
Who should be on your team
C-level management
Gambling organizers, business owners, and investors normally delegate the daily management of their project. Top management is responsible for the development of the whole company and makes decisions in the owners’ interests. Highly experienced C-level professionals are necessary to keep the business running, as they coordinate all the different teams that make up a project to achieve the target goals. These are the main responsibilities of a top-level manager:
- Development and fulfillment of company-wide policies.
- Set policies for customer service management.
- Cooperation with the finance department to ensure regulatory compliance and financial reporting.
- Creation of partnerships with third parties such as game developers and payment system providers.
- Monitoring competitors.
- Analyzing players’ preferences.
- Cooperation with marketing and advertising specialists.
Management and team leads
Chief officers and directors collect data from the company’s management and communicate with managers directly to discuss plans and goals. Managers and team leads in their turn organize their subordinates’ workflow in a way to achieve those goals. They take responsibility for their teams, divide work among them, and keep an eye on the processes so that nothing goes wrong. Managers make sure their teams work as efficiently and productively as possible.
Team members
These professionals execute daily tasks depending on their level. They attend to routine needs that need to be taken care of, constantly maintaining high standards of quality. If players have complaints, if transactions are interrupted, if connections are broken, if you need to add new games to your platform, or if you need to promote your project in a new market — one of the team members you hire will handle it. Like the turning gears that keep a watch ticking, every team member in a gambling project matters.
Recruitment: online casino teams
Online casino platform maintenance requires a team of reliable people. Online business specifics are more or less the same regardless of the particular sector, but the gambling industry demands a higher level of precision and delicacy than many others. In the case of a White Label online casino, where technical and financial support is provided by a platform developer, only a minimum of employees is needed: a manager, a technical customer assistant, account managers, and an accountant. However, if an online casino is an independent project, a greater number of employees, working in various departments, will be required. The size of the team is what makes recruitment for online casinos so important, and operators often struggle at this stage. Below is a list of teams that are necessary for hassle-free operation.
Legal department
Any business needs lawyers — especially gambling businesses. Online casinos might face various challenges, and internal lawyers can wind up being very busy.
A legal team is necessary to handle different partnerships and collaborations, and they will also take care of licensing and certification, deal with expansion into other countries, and solve disputes, protecting your platform’s good name. A highly professional and effective legal department is an absolute necessity for an online casino, especially taking into account the fact that your players are not physically present, which can bring some unique complications.
Accounting and finance
This department is responsible for all internal and external financial processes. Professional accountants and financial specialists track the company’s expenses and revenue. They will also assess external deals and analyze the financial development of the online casino project. Accountants need specific knowledge and skills to work with banking and payment systems, as well as an understanding of the tax system and expertise in financial legislation.
Account managers
Account managers communicate with gaming content developers — or if a casino decides to make its life easier and get all its games from a single provider, aggregators. This means they keep an eye on new game releases and make sure these games are integrated into online casino platforms as soon as possible. Account managers also keep an eye out for updates and special offers, including tournaments and other events that are in the operator’s interest. Apart from game developers, this team also communicates with the platform software provider, if it was not created by an internal team of developers.
Technical support
These experts ensure the website functions without any interruption, 24/7. Technical support should always be available for troubleshooting: this team is responsible for all the technical processes and equipment, including any software errors or any other mistakes at any stage of the player’s journey on your online casino platform. Players have high expectations for tech support; they must react immediately to any queries or complaints to maintain the platform’s reputation.
Operators should not allow any technical failure, whether it’s a payment transaction or gameplay itself, because these are what players find the most frustrating. It is also worth noting that many casinos choose not to develop the software themselves, but leave it to a professional vendor company. The software providers offer non-stop technical support, and there is no need for internal specialists.
Player support & compliance
To some, the online format can call the legitimacy of a gambling platform into question. That’s why online casinos do their best to make players feel secure and taken care of. Players find it more trustworthy if a real person is handling their problem. As a channel of direct contact and communication, player support is one of the most important departments in the online casino business.
The most crucial elements of great customer support are effectiveness and a positive attitude. The experts should be able to provide answers to any questions or complaints that may arise and be ready to solve any problems and difficulties players may have; their main role is to leave players satisfied with the platform’s service, in turn maintaining the casino’s good reputation.
Compliance specialists also work to ensure a company’s transparency. They handle documentation, payments, and personal data. The compliance team also takes care of the KYC and AML policies. Usually, there should be four customer support operators, with three team members each working eight-hour shifts, and one specialist handling emergency situations.
The more languages your customer support team speaks, the better. They should be able to communicate effectively in English, as it is the most commonly used international language, and other languages depending on the target audience and markets of operation.
Marketing
The marketing team will help you promote your online casino. First of all, there should always be a clear, focused, and sophisticated marketing strategy. It is better to develop the strategy before the launch, to set the targets you’ll be aiming for. Marketing specialists will take care of promotion, using various marketing techniques, such as affiliate programs, SEO optimization, email marketing, social media advertisement, etc.
The marketing team suggests which bonuses to offer players and comes up with ideas on how to improve player conversion and retention rates, which have a direct impact on a casino’s profitability. Online casino promotion is a difficult task that requires knowledge and skills, as the online environment is very competitive.
Sales & business development
The sales team is another department that communicates with players directly. These people should have a professional attitude and experience. Sales agents aim to boost the company’s revenue, using tools provided by the marketing team, but shouldn’t discourage players by pressuring them too much. The sales department must be well-prepared for possible questions and agents must know the products and services offered. These professionals should also speak the languages of your players.
Recruitment: land-based casino teams
Legal
Just like online platforms, land-based casinos need a lawyer or a full legal team. These professionals will be responsible for contracts, complaints, licenses, business development, and expansion. Offline casinos require legal experts with a certain level of experience; they should have an understanding of the legislature that regulates brick-and-mortar gambling projects, gambling advertising, employee relations, establishments, and territorial locations, etc.
Accounting
Accounting teams are as important for land-based casinos as they are for online platforms. Accountants work with the company’s funds, attending to both internal and external financial processes. In addition, land-based accounting teams are also responsible for all the other transactions that take place in a casino, including cash desks and bars.
Technical team
As with an online casino, technical support should be available around the clock. These professionals work with equipment such as gaming tables and machines, carrying out data collection, supervising monitoring systems, performing maintenance, etc., and should be constantly available to immediately solve any problem that emerges. Technical support professionals should be skilled, efficient, and have experience with land-based gambling establishments.
Customer service managers
This team is in charge of player support, just like in an online casino. However, these professionals are in more direct contact with players. Apart from general player support, they make sure customers feel comfortable and taken care of within the walls of the casino.
Marketing
Marketing for land-based projects is different from that of their online counterparts but equally important. These specialists should consider the regulations that govern advertising in a particular jurisdiction, as well as the demands of the market. Brick-and-mortar casinos are well promoted online, just like the websites. They also require social media presence, website and SEO optimization, and special offers and bonuses for players, who often choose a casino according to the benefits it offers. Player retention strategies are as important for land-based casinos as they are for online platforms, but can include additional perks such as complimentary drinks and hotel rooms for high rollers.
Sales
The sales team in a land-based casino plays the same role as for an online platform: professional and experienced employees take care of the acquisition and conversion of the new players. The sales team should speak the languages of the target clients and be able to discuss any topics regarding gambling or the particular casino, including payments, bonuses, etc.
Security
One critical aspect of land-based establishments that operators should never forget is security. While online platforms entrust their security to compliance and technical teams and rely on software, an offline business should handle this issue by recruiting a special department — a highly skilled professional security team.
Casino staff
Don’t neglect the importance of hiring professional casino staff to man the floor and run the table games. Casino staff directly interact with your players, meaning the impression they give is essential for your casino’s reputation. They must be upbeat and cheerful but professional, and trained to the point that they either make no mistakes or solve problems quickly and subtly.
Make sure they have a professional appearance and speak politely; since your staff represents your casino brand, players must be fully satisfied with their services to come back for more.
Things operators should keep in mind
Both online and offline gambling businesses are very complex. This can make recruitment seem complicated: this isn’t a question of a couple of people, but a full staff of professionals with experience in the gambling industry.
However, not all specialists have to be employed within the company. Some positions may be covered by outsourcing: when an operator does not see a constant necessity in a particular professional, it is possible to hire external freelance or remote workers.
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