Online gaming jobs specialist Hyperion Gaming of London has opened a satellite office in St Julians to be closer to the ever-growing sector in Malta, managing director Alex Lafferty told The Times Business yesterday.
Operating since March 2007, the company - one of only a handful with UK headquarters specialising purely within the online gaming sector - has been granted a licence to act as a recruitment agency locally. The office currently has a team of two which will be beefed up in the coming months.
"It was a natural progression for us," Mr Lafferty said. "There are over 300 licensed online gaming companies in Malta; that makes it the next largest territory for us outside the UK and Ireland."
Hyperion Gaming seeks to recruit for online gaming companies worldwide, particularly those based in the UK, Dublin, Gibraltar, Macau and Malta, and to tap its "strong connections throughout online gaming".
The company's website claims the firm has recruited for market leaders Betfair, Betdaq, Sporting Index, Ladbrokes, Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, from executive to director levels.
Hyperion says it offers recruitment solutions to a wide range of organisations operating in the sector, including gaming software providers, operators, and on-line payment solution providers.
Current vacancies listed at www.hyperiongaming.com include web developer for online poker based in the UK with a starting salary of £33,000, poker PR and events manager for Ireland (€50,000), and human resources manager for Malta (€35,000). Other Malta-based jobs listed include customer service posts, requiring Swedish-, Danish-, German-, and Polish-speaking candidates, and marketing and managerial positions.
A director of web development based in Ireland could command up to €130,000, a director of web localisation in the UK up to £100,000, and a technical liaison/project manager in Malta up to £50,000.
Mr Lafferty said Hyperion Gaming was keen to tap into the local workforce, particularly because Maltese people seem to have embraced online gaming.
"In that respect, yes, we will always try to facilitate employment for the local Maltese population wherever possible," he said. "For some of the niche roles in gaming, we will, on occasion, have to go further afield.
"We have been in Malta for just two weeks. Hyperion has previously recruited a number of candidates for Malta in the past two years, but we did not target the Maltese market specifically until we were fully licensed and capable of providing the best possible service to both our clients and candidates. Having a physical presence in Malta is extremely important to us, as it will allow our business to form close links with a number of key operators and service providers in the region.
"We have already had numerous candidates in the office and we have been to see a lot of our clients as well in Sliema, Ta' Xbiex, St Julians. There is a good community for online gaming in Malta. Everyone seems to know each other."
Mr Lafferty believes the industry is resilient enough to withstand the international recession and will not be as badly affected as other sectors.
"The recession has had an impact, but online gaming is well positioned to deal with that a lot more than other industries," he said. "It is an agile sector, so we are fortunate."
Operating since March 2007, the company - one of only a handful with UK headquarters specialising purely within the online gaming sector - has been granted a licence to act as a recruitment agency locally. The office currently has a team of two which will be beefed up in the coming months.
"It was a natural progression for us," Mr Lafferty said. "There are over 300 licensed online gaming companies in Malta; that makes it the next largest territory for us outside the UK and Ireland."
Hyperion Gaming seeks to recruit for online gaming companies worldwide, particularly those based in the UK, Dublin, Gibraltar, Macau and Malta, and to tap its "strong connections throughout online gaming".
The company's website claims the firm has recruited for market leaders Betfair, Betdaq, Sporting Index, Ladbrokes, Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, from executive to director levels.
Hyperion says it offers recruitment solutions to a wide range of organisations operating in the sector, including gaming software providers, operators, and on-line payment solution providers.
Current vacancies listed at www.hyperiongaming.com include web developer for online poker based in the UK with a starting salary of £33,000, poker PR and events manager for Ireland (€50,000), and human resources manager for Malta (€35,000). Other Malta-based jobs listed include customer service posts, requiring Swedish-, Danish-, German-, and Polish-speaking candidates, and marketing and managerial positions.
A director of web development based in Ireland could command up to €130,000, a director of web localisation in the UK up to £100,000, and a technical liaison/project manager in Malta up to £50,000.
Mr Lafferty said Hyperion Gaming was keen to tap into the local workforce, particularly because Maltese people seem to have embraced online gaming.
"In that respect, yes, we will always try to facilitate employment for the local Maltese population wherever possible," he said. "For some of the niche roles in gaming, we will, on occasion, have to go further afield.
"We have been in Malta for just two weeks. Hyperion has previously recruited a number of candidates for Malta in the past two years, but we did not target the Maltese market specifically until we were fully licensed and capable of providing the best possible service to both our clients and candidates. Having a physical presence in Malta is extremely important to us, as it will allow our business to form close links with a number of key operators and service providers in the region.
"We have already had numerous candidates in the office and we have been to see a lot of our clients as well in Sliema, Ta' Xbiex, St Julians. There is a good community for online gaming in Malta. Everyone seems to know each other."
Mr Lafferty believes the industry is resilient enough to withstand the international recession and will not be as badly affected as other sectors.
"The recession has had an impact, but online gaming is well positioned to deal with that a lot more than other industries," he said. "It is an agile sector, so we are fortunate."