Interview: Head of Account Management, Christine Parkhill, speaks about why Push Gaming set up in Malta
Our Head of Account Management, Christine Parkhill, recently spoke with the Maltese publication, iGaming Capital, on the reasons why Push Gaming set up an office in Malta. She also talks about why the island is such a great place to be, particularly for the igaming industry.
Please tell me a little about your operation here in Malta, and what services will be run out of the island, as well as the size of your team.
We have steadily been growing our operations here in Malta since the summer of 2017 and are really pleased with how this has been developing. Located in the beautiful capital of Valletta, our team has now reached 10 people, and more opportunities to further grow the team are currently available, with more to be added in the coming months. Our operations here are mostly focused on the commercial side, that is account management and sales, along with marketing, finance and legal.
What were the USPs that attracted you to Malta?
As a supplier to the online gaming industry, setting up in Malta just seemed like an obvious choice for us. A very large percentage of our client base has established offices here in Malta over the past few years and this of course, helps us to more effectively build and nurture these partnerships.
More and more companies in the sector are setting up here and this is continuing to strengthen Malta’s position for the industry. The networking opportunities here are just fantastic, and it really allows everyone to easily get together and keep up-to-date with what is going on.
Of course, the quality-of-life and mediterreanen lifestyle we have here is highly appealing too, and being so well-connected makes it even easier to travel for staff and clients when needed.
What has been positive about the move so far?
There have been many positives - we feel closer to our clients than ever before and we have also been able to put together an incredible team who are really driving our business forward.
We've also been able to hold a company get-together here and our colleagues from other teams in London and Lviv just loved their experience here. A lot of our employees and clients are also not Maltese, and are all really enjoying their experience here. They just love being taken out around our beautiful island and we do our very best to show them all that the island has to offer - its rich history and culture, but also places that are unique as well as any hidden gems that they might not have already heard of.
Have there been any challenges?
Of course setting up any new office, in any location comes with its challenges. We started out as a very small team having to set up and run the office between us. However, that being said, we’re really pleased with the fact that the people we have employed in our Malta office have really jumped straight in to support the business in many ways they could, and this has really made all the difference for us to get this up and running as smoothly as possible. This has also contributed to the family-like feeling that we all have between us as a team as we’ve all in some way, chipped in to make the office what it is today.
From a policy perspective, what do you think Malta is doing right for iGaming, and what could be improved?
With the new Gaming Act 2018, Malta has enhanced its regulation to become even more attractive at being technological neutral and having a risk-based approach at its core. Malta has the perfect regulatory environment for a B2B supplier that ensures an affordable and capped licensing cost that allows it to support all EU/EEA licensed operators.
We are confident that it will continue to retain its prominent position in the igaming world with the MGA continuing with its already ongoing cooperation with other licensing jurisdictions, to align on technical standards, player protection measures and exchange of information.
How has Covid affected your operations and what will you be doing differently?
We are very fortunate to have been able to work almost uninterrupted throughout this difficult time. We've missed not being able to meet our clients, partners and colleagues in person as we normally would, however thankfully operationally it's been pretty much business as usual. We're aware not all people and companies have been so fortunate and we are extremely grateful that we have managed to continue with our work.
Of course, there have been some challenges too. It’s not always easy for everyone to work from home, however we have all been collaborating together to keep communication between us going smoothly. A number of initiatives have been organised internally to keep our spirits up and keep us closer as a team - we’ve had various online workout classes and games nights, as well as fitness challenges and meditation sessions just to name a few which we will continue to do. From these, we have also raised a good amount of money for donations to several charities that are helping those in need due to this pandemic, across all the countries where our offices are present.
We have also been having more quick meetings between teams, some daily, others a few times a week. This has really helped us to actually work a lot better together possibly then when we were in the office and has allowed us to streamline work and internal processes better.
Moving forward, the company is planning on the best way forward for all our teams. Working remotely has undoubtedly also brought a lot of benefits - reducing the daily stress of commuting, and of course this has been very beneficial for our environment so we’re working on developing a good balance for ways of working in future that suits everyone’s needs but also keeps our work progressing as usual.
What is your advice to other gaming companies thinking of setting up in Malta, and to those recently moved here?
As already mentioned, there are many benefits to being here in Malta. However, probably one of the best ones for those who are starting out here, or planning to, is the strong igaming community that is here. The networking opportunities are endless and really help to strengthen the relationships you can build here.
This has been so successful that we are continuously seeing more and more companies setting up here and organising various conferences and events too. It’s not just about quantity though - the quality of the events taking place are really exceeding expectations and keep getting better which ultimately contributes towards raising the standard within the industry itself.
The above is the full interview that took place. For the published article, head over to page 41 of their July publication that also features some other prominent names in the industry.
