Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/750768
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 NOVEMBER 2016 XIV Gaming What do iGaming Elite do? iGaming Elite are predomi- nately a Malta-based boutique iGaming headhunters. iGaming Elite launched in 2011 to cater for the online gaming industry within Malta. Initially specializing in head hunting for medium to C level vacancies for key appoint- ments. However based on the fact that we have numerous amounts of clients and part- ners that had a requirement for us to service their mid- to junior-level acquisitions, we decided then to cater for that market as well and set up tams accordingly. So even though you can say half of our business is based on the contingency model, the other half is based on retained projects. Why is iGaming Elite differ- ent? This is a question that can become fairly cliché within our industry with various business- es trying to break down and segment why they are better than the next. I wouldn't ever say we are better, but we are certainly different. We keep our teams lean, with quality, that have knowl- edge of the industry. They either join us with experience of international headhunting already, alternatively we also identify individuals with poten- tial and they would go through a rigorous training program and mentored over a period of time. Each team is set up slightly different, similar in the way we engage and have relation- ships with our client, but the processes are different from operational to C level sourc- ing. The clients that have re- lationships with us, find our methods to be successful and ultimately, an important add on to their business growth. Where do you see iGaming Elite growing within 12-24 months? Over the last 5-6 years, we have firmly established ourselves now as a key player within the iGaming head hunt- ing space. Over the next 12 to 24 months we are in the process of setting up multiple satellite offices throughout Europe. To mention just two would be London and Stock- holm. The reason being is we are built on lean teams of headhunters and any office we will open will remain just that. We believe in a localised service and we would not be working in a jurisdiction we have no knowledge of. We shall also be rolling out two more offices in 2018 to con- tinue our expansion, but Malta will remain our HQ. What skill sets are lacking in Malta? That question could be split into two segments, the supplier and the operators. We have a very good mar- ket here with a lot of talented individuals. However, with any market that is experiencing huge amount of growth, there is not enough talent to add value within the roles that are becom- ing available. That's why we look at head- hunting individuals from other countries and relocate them to Malta. Operators will always struggle with certain native languages and various different specific skills, however, we are always working hard to estab- lish new avenues and tools to acquire talent. On the supplier side we have a slightly different issue, in that a lot of the skill-sets that are now required historically haven't been on the island. Game math- ematicians, games developers, illustrators and digital artists, to mention but a few. iGaming Elite work closely with many suppliers to help them acquire talent from all corners of the globe and advise and consult- ant when relocating this calibre of individual to the island. Our foundation has always been built on quality, transpar- ency and a relentless obses- sion with providing excellence. Anything less has never been acceptable For more information on iGaming Elite and their ser- vices. Please free to email Dean Nicholls on dean@ig- amingelite.com. Alternatively, visit our website on www.igamingelite.com The elite headhunters Searching for talent in the iGaming industry requires a specialist service, iGaming Elite's founder and CEO Dean Nicholls explains PayPal sends cash with Siri PAYPAL has integrated with Ap- ple agent Siri to enable subscrib- ers to use voice commands to transfer payments in 30 countries and in a variety of languages. The new facility for iPhone and iPad users running iOS 10 is be- ing made available in time for the busy holiday season, with PayPal predicting more than 17 million P2P transactions in the month of December alone. Users can transfer cash to friends and family with a simple voice command like: "Hey Siri, send Bill $50 using PayPal." PayPal subsidiary Venmo added Siri support in September, as did competitor Square Cash and money transfer outfit Azimo. The facility is also gaining trac- tion with startup banks like Monzo and Number 26. The first known incumbent to adopt the SiriKit SDK is OCBC in Singapore, which rolled out the feature to customers last month. Contactless card payments becoming 'second-nature' to EU consumers CONSUMER confidence in and acceptance of contactless payments is outstripping card issuance and merchant accept- ance points in Europe, according to research by RBR. At the end of 2015, there were 346 million contactless cards in the region, up 41% from a year before. But growth in usage has been more impressive still, with the number of contactless card payments increasing three-fold to 3.7 billion during the year - equivalent to 5% of all card payments. By 2021, RBR forecasts that half of all European cards will be contactless, boosting the volume of tap and go payments more than six-fold over the next five years to almost 25 billion - equivalent to 22% of all payments on European cards. Says RBR's Chris Herbert: "With contactless cardholding and acceptance continuing to spread rapidly, one-touch card payments will be second nature for the ma- jority of Europeans by 2021". Dean Nicholls