For you all, please take note of the name Marco Braun. The online casino players are happy with him. Casinomeister praise him and Dutch job candidates want to be like him. In this interview, Marco talks about how he ended up in the Malta iGaming industry, why the CasinoMeister award means a lot to him, and that every role in the online casino industry is all about customer service. 

I first met Marco Braun back in 2019 as his CV ended up in my inbox. I had a feeling this Dutch candidate would be an interesting talent to follow in the years to come. I love to meet talented candidates who are good listeners and keen on feedback. How to write a good CV? How to present myself in a job interview? Which online casino suits me?

Being Dutch in the online casino industry in Malta is great

I´m a Dutch national born and raised in Tenerife (Canary Islands) up until I was 18 years old when I decided to part ways and start a new challenge at Rotterdam University in The Netherlands. A huge cultural step but challenges make you stronger.
Although being a happy island guy, I must admit my arrival in Malta was quite unexpected. It was around summertime in 2019 that I first took notice of Malta; the low unemployment rate, stable economy with high GDP, and hearing news about the fast-paced sector of iGaming which offers a vast variety of job opportunities in online casinos – especially if you are good with languages. The weather is also very similar to the Canary Islands, great!

It was easy to reach out to iGaming recruiters in Malta because they were all busy posting jobs and career opportunities on social media and Linkedin. I shared my CV with a few recruiters, I received info about various open roles but only you Allan Aasterud gave me feedback about my CV and how to present myself. It wasn’t just general feedback but it was information that helped me understand how the recruitment process works, which factors are important, and why these factors are important.

The application process got me some leads to various online gaming companies in Malta, and I didn’t hesitate twice; it was time to pack the suitcase, book flight tickets, and, prepare for job interviews.
After arriving in Malta, within 1 week I had 2 interviews and I secured a Dutch Customer Service Agent role at Kindred Group.

Language skills are important when searching for online casino jobs in Malta

Smart people with language skills will grow fast in the online casino and gaming industry because these people can help with customer service, proofreading, content writing, compliance, Payment and Fraud, etc.
I would say speaking Spanish, Dutch, and English on a competitive level has opened many doors for me in the last 5 years and especially within the Malta iGaming industry where languages are greatly appreciated. Comprehending various languages gives you the ability to think outside of the box and empathise with different cultural mentalities and perspectives.

There is no magic in my recruitment process; I prepared a CV, I improved this CV based on feedback received and I researched online casinos and gaming companies before job interviews.

My transition from Spain to Malta happened in the planning of 4 weeks when I decided to abruptly leave my job and relocate to develop an iGaming career. Some may call it a risky move or huge amounts of self-belief but I followed the advice given by iGaming veterans who have a solid track record working with online casinos, and sports betting operators and know who is who in Malta.

I’m happy to call Allan Aasterud and some HR people in Malta personal friends of mine because they always have time for young business talents in the job market. Their advices might be basic but still very valuable:

• Write a CV as it’s your personal business card.
• List your strengths and skills including language skills and confidence in communication.
• Receiving feedback on your CV and profile will only make you better.
• Prepare and present yourself in a job interview.

I would always suggest that you conduct a thorough research about the online casino you are applying in terms of brand awareness, product portfolio, social media presence, and a general understanding of the company’s structure/culture. Lacking knowledge and interest about your potential role/enterprise is never well seen especially during the interview because it is important to think in terms of the company´s interest before you think about your own, especially when you deal with online casinos that have a large portfolio of casino games, a huge database of loyal players and have to follow strict compliance regulations.

Working in the Malta iGaming industry is about hard work, dedication, and discipline, and I would say the same about searching for an online casino job in Malta.

I knew I needed to do my best in the job interview. I did it and so can you.

From online casino customer service to Energy Casino

My career development has been quite an adventure and at this point in my life, I have zero regrets since my first employment contract with Kindred Group in 2019 as a Dutch online customer service agent. However, I have to say it was not that easy for me at all. I think we all suffered during the Covid lockdown; working from home, a new job with new challenges in a new country, it was difficult to socialise and make new friends, and so on. Yet it is the adversity that we go through that makes us resilient and this definitely applied to me.

I got headhunted by the game provider Hacksaw Gaming in December 2020 as an Account Manager/Business Development Executive. Unfortunately, after only 3 months I decided to leave this job due to unforeseen circumstances and my whole Malta future was a big question mark. It was all about family, Covid travel restrictions, and career concerns.

Luckily, in the summer of 2021, I was approached by a recruiter from Energy Casino which allowed me to work remotely before I went back to Malta once my Covid-19 vaccine was in order.
I love my job as Community Engagement Specialist as I get the opportunity to work with online casino affiliation, marketing, and social media and have direct player contact! And let me tell you, I couldn’t do this job without my customer service experience from Kindred, it shows you why an entry job in the Malta iGaming industry can open new and interesting doors. Some of my tasks include enhancing brand awareness, improving sportsbook products, responsible for Social Media content strategy, campaign planning, and direct interaction with casino players on affiliate sites like Casinomeister.

Casinomeister award and casino player engagement

I had the honour to receive the “ IGaming Representative of the Year Award for 2021” at London Affiliate Conference (LAC) in May 2022 from Bryan Bailey, the Casinomeister chief himself!

Casinomeister is a prestigious online casino review site that has been operating since 1998 and is one of the pioneers in international iGaming. It is like the Bible for online casino forums and you can find discussions and promotions for exclusive casino bonuses and casino player campaigns. Casinomeister stands out for being advocates of fair play and exposing shady business practices conducted in the online casino sector. They allow accredited casinos like Energy Casino to sign up and become representatives to handle any concerns, engage with casino players, share casino bonus info, etc and that’s why Casinomeister is globally considered to be one of the most visited casino affiliate platforms in the industry.

Yes, being active on Casinomeister requires daily persistence, research ability and proactivity and I have to thank Jelena Isakov (Account Manager from Casinomeister) for helping me achieving this award. Jelena was always there to help me convert affiliate promotions, identify threads where Energy Casino was mentioned, and post ACQ promotions. I have run prize pool competitions, interactive promotions, customized promo codes and engaged with players on a personal level weekly/monthly.

I think we all need a bit of thick skin and confidence to be able to deal with passionate online casino players who believe they know more about numbers, bonus calculations and payouts than a math professor at Harvard University!

Congratulations to Marco Braun. Not bad for a young Dutch business rookie to win a prestigious Casinomeister award!

Let’s just say that this Dutch talent has come a long way since our first meeting and this shows that confidence and passion can take you a long way in iGaming. Good luck and we will soon speak again.