GERALD FENECH speaks exclusively to Rob Dowling CEO of Pentasia on their role in building up quality human resources in the online gaming industry as well as their focus on Malta as a premier online gaming destination.

“We originally opened Pentasia Malta in 2006 as the country was rapidly becoming the leading online gaming jurisdiction in Europe. Malta and the LGA were well organised with a competitive regulatory framework and a lot of our clients were establishing operations here so it made sense to have people on the ground to offer our services in person. Since then our operation here has gone from employing just one person here to around 20 consultants and we are now the largest recruitment agency of any type in Malta.

“On the island we have been very much focused on the niche sector of iGaming but have recently branched out into the general IT sector. We have also centralised the delivery of our international European business in Malta from the UK partly for tax and cost reasons so we are consolidating all our work here. We are committing our long term future to Malta”.


How do you feel the country has developed from an infrastructural and business point of view?

“Our experience of conducting business in Malta has been entirely positive to date. Whilst we are aware that there have been some issues that have affected our clients in the iGaming space such as internet connectivity and the occasional power cut, we at Pentasia have no complaints. Malta has splendid opportunities for potential employers with a well educated and predominately English speaking labour market and the IT infrastructure has improved immensely. Recruitment companies are a good barometer on what’s happening in a given sector or geographical market and we’re currently very busy and expanding our operations here.

“Our clients are looking to ensure stability and longevity for their operational bases in Malta which is good news for the island as they are now supporting this commitment with an increased emphasis on the hiring of local Maltese candidates. We are working with a number of our clients in Malta to develop initiatives and strategic long term approaches to local talent acquisition and management. The growth of our business in Malta has been a key factor to the success of the Pentasia Group as a whole and we hope that this will continue in the future.”  


What is your background in the industry and how did you come to the gaming sector?

“I’ve been working as a recruitment consultant and headhunter for the past 15 years and prior to that I worked as a money broker in the City after leaving university. Whilst working in London in the late 1990’s my boss invited me to a party in Haymarket celebrating the launch of a company called The Sporting Exchange (later to become known as Betfair). As a result we were requested to perform some searches from competitor operators based both in the UK and off shore in Gibraltar at that time. I developed a client base and contact network in this very embryonic sector and eventually in 2001, my business partner and I decided to break away and create a recruitment agency focused purely on iGaming. Our operations have expanded considerably in the intervening years and we now have offices in London, Costa Rica, Malta, Singapore, the USA and Sweden. We are rightly proud to be the only truly global service provider of our kind.”


Have the current economic conditions affected the gaming industry or has it been more resilient than most?

“From our perspective we were very aware what was happening in the global economy and what was coming in the summer of last year. Our activities in Asia Pacific gave us a firsthand insight into markets that were already experiencing economic recessions and the negative impact on the land based gaming sector in Macau was impossible to miss. Although the real economy was not immediately hit, the gaming companies locked down, revised their expansion plans and froze recruitment for a while but the industry has been hit rather less hard than most.

“People talk about gaming being recession proof and it is certainly much more resilient than other sectors but the recession is biting and a lot of companies have had to let staff go. There are also far less startups than there used to be as there is less money available from would be investors. The numbers of new entrants to the sector has been severely restricted in recent months as a result but new players are starting to emerge once more. Positive reported figures from the major players indicate that despite tougher trading conditions the operators are still growing. This is encouraging investment once more in the sector and the bigger operators are also looking to re-invest in their infrastructures so they will be best placed to maximise revenues when the next wave of growth takes grip in the sector. As a recruiter at heart I am an eternal optimist but all signs in the global iGaming industry are pointing to a continued bright future for the market and if Malta can keep its focus and build on its strengths then this has to be good news for the island’s economy.”


What is the outlook for Pentasia in the medium to long term?

“We are very much committed to Malta as we look to increase our infrastructure and delivery capabilities from the island. Supporting the evolving IT industry in Malta forms a major part of our plans as does developing the sophistication of the service we can provide to our Maltese gaming clients. We believe that Asia-Pacific and North and Latin America offer extremely exciting opportunities and we are committed to continue investing and building on our existing operations in these markets too. We have a number of initiatives and new divisions that we will be rolling-out over the coming months and we are confident that these will further help us to maintain our place as market leader.

“As a business we are continually looking to improve and to innovate in order to cement our position as key partners to our client base, as they in turn seek to grow and expand in this competitive sector. What is certain is that there are exciting times ahead for the global iGaming sector and in turn a bright future for Malta, providing it does not rest upon its laurels, seizes the moment and builds on its current position as one of the world’s premiere online gaming jurisdictions.”