April 29, 2019
In our digital world, data is the new gold- which means that professionals who work with data are in high demand. LinkedIn estimate there are around 131,000 data science openings in the US alone, and ‘data scientist’ was famously deemed the “sexiest job of the 21stcentury” by the Harvard Business Review.
Candidates skilled in data analytics will find doors open across virtually every industry including government, finance, retail, entertainment, and many more. Due to the high levels of demand, jobs requiring data analysis are typically well paid (especially at a senior level) and offer the chance to make a real impact on strategic decisions. In the online gambling sector, the smart use of data is critical in everything from providing a superior customer experience, to setting the right odds, to identifying problem gamblers. So it’s no surprise that data analytics is a sought-after skill.
But what does it take to excel in data? For a start, it’s not always just about analysis; working in data you may have to work across the data lifecycle; collecting data from a range of sources, cleaning it (looking for inconsistencies or errors in reporting), analysing it, and then presenting it visually. As well as mathematical modelling skills and the ability to use programs such as Hadoop, Hive, R and Python, data professionals need to be logical problem solvers, and should be able to effectively communicate their insights to non-technical executives.
But you don’t have to be a data scientist to be data-orientated in your career. There are opportunities abound for professionals with skills in data, which means that learning how to work better with data could give you a serious career boost.
Jobs in data
Data Science and Engineering
If you love working with data and software to derive key insights, then a purely data-focused job could be right for you. In igaming you’ll likely be working on a range of projects across the business that require deep data analysis, meaning your role is varied and interesting. Many candidates come from a postgraduate degree background with experience in software development or business intelligence, but there are also courses in data science that can provide a fast-track.
Odds-setting
The gambling industry has always relied on accurate odds setting, and as business has moved online, it has become easier to automate the process of odds setting to improve profitability while ensuring that customers win enough to keep playing. Working as a trader you’ll need skills in statistical modelling and probability analysis, as well as research skills and a sharp eye for detail. Being a data-nerd is an absolute must, and a healthy interest in sport helps too.
Project Management
Technical project management involves tracking projects, ensuring resources are deployed in the optimal way and everything is running on time and budget. Although the hardcore analysis is done by data scientists and engineers, good project managers should be able to understand the figures presented by data professionals to understand how the project is tracking, thus being highly-data focused is a key advantage.
Marketing
Our ability to track and predict customer behaviour is continuously improving with a range of analytical tools, which is why data analysis is now an essential part of a digital marketeers’ toolkit. In online gambling, marketing professionals use analytics to help them monitor customers and prospects to test the impact of different campaigns or promotions– for example knowing the optimal time to deliver a ‘free bet’.