People
People
A lesser-known benefit of the PASPA ruling for work-weary Brits and Europeans is the opening up of a shiny new job market in the US. Executive search experts Andrew Bulloss and Bambos Eracleous from Odgers Berndtson run the rule over the pitfalls and opportunities lying across the pond
More importantly, neither are the US immigration authorities going to allow in more people than is necessary. This leads us to …
The visa problem There are a number of expat Americans with sports betting skills( and all-important green cards) who are currently employed in the UK and Europe. These people will be the first port of call for US operators looking to fill key roles in newly formed structures. In addition, there will be those who have the right to work through marriage, or who are Canadian, which also makes the relocation process easier..
The US immigration process is arduous. There are almost 60 different types of temporary US non-immigrant visas in addition to several employment-based, permanent residence routes. Getting a green card can take years. The next option is to secure a first, second or third preference priority worker visa which will depend on whether sports betting knowledge is seen as an‘ extraordinary’ or‘ exceptional’ ability in the eyes of the immigration officials!
The most likely route for most executives will be through an H-1B visa, designated for workers in‘ speciality occupations’. However, when the US economy is doing well the visas run out and it becomes a lottery to get hold of one. This obviously puts a limit on the number of overseas people taking up roles in the US each year.
We’ ve heard of some businesses looking to create teams in Canada to circumvent the problem, while joint ventures with a US-based entity may also be a workaround. Who knows, maybe the US gaming industry will find a way to influence US immigration to offer more visas to non-US‘ specialist’ execs? This is highly unlikely given the absence of a federal solution for sports betting, but it could be an option if the lack of available talent restricts the growth of the sports betting market on a state-by-state basis and therefore restricts state government taxes from gaming.
Hiring domestically The other option open to US employers is to hire teams made up of people already on the ground in the US. There are a number of experienced igaming and sports betting execs already in the US, although it is a small pool. Another possible solution is to hire more‘ junior’ people already operating in the sports and igaming market in Nevada or New Jersey, but there’ s a risk these people won’ t cut it in more senior roles. The other option is to hire talent from other sectors, namely retail, media, entertainment and tech. This might be OK for commercial and marketing roles as well as functional roles like HR and finance, but it doesn’ t fill the skills-gap for specific sports betting expertise. None of these are the only solution to the visa problem.
Who will be hiring and what will they be hiring for? In the next 12 months, US casinos, racetracks, media and data businesses, sports leagues and UK and European operators are all going to need to consider hiring sports betting talent in some shape or form in the US. Leaving aside the question of where they will get them from, what sort of skills and experience will be required? If we were betting men then we would put money on the following:
Product and technology While much of this can be provided through supplier and operator relationships, the opportunity to create differentiation in what will be a highly competitive US market is important, whether that be through product or functionality. Naturally, it would be sensible for a US casino with limited sports betting knowledge to have someone sitting their side of the fence challenging the UK and European suppliers and putting their feet to the fire on the promises they have offered. iGamingBusiness | Issue 111 | July / August 2018 101