The iGaming industry is growing faster than its talent

The iGaming industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world. New markets are opening, regulations are evolving, and technology is pushing operators to compete in ways that did not exist five years ago. But there is a quieter challenge running alongside all that growth: the talent is not keeping up. 

This is not a crisis. It is a structural reality that comes with rapid expansion in any industry. When a sector scales faster than the educational ecosystem around it, gaps appear. The question is what the industry does about them. 

A gap that goes deeper than technical skills 

When people talk about skill gaps, they often think about hard skills: compliance knowledge, data analysis, trading, product management. And yes, those gaps are real. But some of the most experienced professionals in the industry point to something less obvious. 

Glenn Debattista, COO at BetStarters, puts it plainly: 

“The biggest skill gap I see is a lack of understanding beyond one’s own department. Many professionals specialise in one role, but don’t take the time to understand how the wider iGaming ecosystem works. The most successful people I’ve worked with are those who understand the connections between product, operations, marketing, compliance, payments, and customer experience.” 

This cross-functional blind spot is one of the harder gaps to address. You can teach someone the mechanics of a new regulation or a new platform. It is much harder to give someone a genuine understanding of how an entire business fits together. And yet, that broader perspective is often what separates the people who grow quickly in this industry from those who plateau. 

Whose responsibility is it anyway? 

Closing a skill gap requires investment from multiple directions. Operators need to create environments where learning is encouraged, not just expected. Training providers need to build programmes that reflect how the industry works, not just how it looks from the outside. And professionals themselves need to take ownership of their own development. 

On that last point, Debattista is direct: 

“Although it’s a shared responsibility, I’d say it starts with the professionals themselves. Operators and training providers can create opportunities, mentorship programmes, and learning resources, but curiosity can’t be taught. The people who progress furthest in this industry are usually those who actively seek knowledge, ask questions, and continuously invest in their own development rather than waiting for someone else to do it for them.” 

That balance matters. No training programme, however well designed, can substitute for the drive to keep learning. But curiosity without access to the right resources will only take someone so far. The industry needs both. 

At iGaming Academy, this is exactly why we build programmes that go beyond single-function knowledge. The professionals who will lead this industry in the next five years are the ones investing in their development today. The growth is not slowing down. The only question is whether the talent will catch up. 

The good news is that awareness of the gap is growing. More operators are prioritising learning and development, more professionals are seeking out structured training, and more platforms exist today to support that journey than ever before. The infrastructure is there. What the industry needs now is the collective will to use it. 

Author: Maria Fernanda Arrubla, Marketing Executive