Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/658018
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 MARCH 2016 Gaming in Malta IX Gaming Innovation Group is a new name on the scene – who exactly are you? GIG as a group is indeed a new name, floating on the Oslo Stock Exchange last year, but our oldest brand, Donkr started back in 2008, making it well established in an in industry as new as this. We are best known for our Guts brand, but more recently we launched Betspin and Rizk which is a really excit- ing new gamified concept which has launched to the biggest numbers the industry has seen. On the B2B side, Donkr is now part of Innovation Labs, which is our Performance Market- ing wing. iGaming Cloud, the platform which launched last year, powers all our brands and is has made a huge impact, becoming the go-to option for the industry at the moment. On the people side, we are really human-centric, diverse company. With around 140 people now, we have 17 na- tionalities at last count. We are mostly based in the Malta HQ, and a growing team in Mar- bella, Spain. It's growing quickly though we moved to our current Malta offices almost exactly two years ago with a team of 42, so have more than tripled in size since then. That's a lot going on – how do you keep fuelling that fire? It's a really important thing to us as a growing organisation that we keep that energy and the great personal communi- cation that actively generates ideas. We have a full suite of B2B and B2C products that we have developed all in-house and there is a huge pride and empowerment in that. So where do all these ideas come from? As a company, we are really transparent. From the top down, we still have all-hands meet- ings, and we stream quarterly shareholders' presentations into the office so everyone in the company has a complete view of the entire group and all the great stuff that's going on. Nobody else of our sort of scale really does that but it's key to our DNA. Everyone needs to know where they stand and what's happening. We then tie that all-encom- passing view with generating a culture where people can talk to each other, whether that is over lunch cooked by our chef, on the terrace in the sun. Putting those minds together, building personal relationships within the organisation all lead to a freedom where ideas are actually getting discussed and finding some traction. A lot of the cultural side of our group really embraces and promotes those relationships. So what's it really like to work there? In real life, it's as exciting as an office can get. We are a group of creative people who are super open to new ideas in a space that is cool, welcoming and with lots of things happen- ing. There is a tangible energy with all the great stuff that's go- ing on. Everyone has a reason to get up in the morning, come in and as we put it 'Get Sh*t done.' It can be very different to a lot of other offices. We have 24/7 customer support, so there are people there all day and night, but for the vast majority of the team there is a lot of freedom and flexibility. There is a con- stant drive and energy here. Maybe it's too much coffee, but there is always a real buzz about the place. What sort of skills to you look for? We are driven by new technol- ogy and creative marketing. Even if you look at the more traditional product and support roles, they are still closely con- nected to those areas. The team is made up of Developers, QA, Creative Designers and a range of Digital Marketing, Campaign and Data Analysis experts. On the language side we have Support and Content Writing. Central services include Finance, HR and Legal. To be honest, the skills are only a part of it. To really get on here, you have to connect that with a real passion for what you do. We have reached this point because our team can all inter- act on a really high level. You need the ability to put your hand in the air, put ideas forward and challenge the status quo. That sounds really exciting. How do I get into iGaming? Of course some gaming expe- rience is important for some of our product roles, but we have all had to start somewhere. It's important to keep fresh ideas and innovation coming into the company, and we always look outside the industry for inspiration on all kinds of fronts, whether it is the innovation hap- pening at Google or somebody like Amazon giving awesome customer service. It is an ex- panding industry, so it would be impossible to only hire gaming people, even if we wanted to! Certainly knowledge of digital industries really helps, par- ticularly in areas like Market- ing and Design. Technology and Software Development of course is also a big area, with Developers, Testers and Project Managers. Finance, Legal and Language based roles are a lot more open and with the right attitude, we bring in people from all sorts of backgrounds. In short, if you have some relevant skills and show the passion, capability and open- ness to learn that which you don't already know, then there is likely a space for you in the industry. If you really impress, then that space may well be with us at GIG. Have a look at our jobs at www.gaminginno- vationgroup.com/jobs or email jobs@gaminginnovationgroup. com and we'll give you the best advice we can. The new kid on the gaming block Gaming Innovation Group may be a relative newcomer to the gaming scene but the fledgling company is making strides in the sector with its can-do attitude and a keen interest in investing in its people. MaltaToday finds out more.