Alright, let’s cut to the chase. iGaming isn’t a side hustle you can wing with a couple of coders and a dream. We’ve tried the “lean and agile” thing—built a team of three, thinking we’d conquer the world. Spoiler: we didn’t. The platform crashed, the regulators weren’t impressed, and we learned the hard way that iGaming is a beast. It’s complex, regulated, and demands the right people in the right roles from day one.
We’ve made every mistake in this guide—hired the wrong folks, overpaid for so-so talent, and thought we could shortcut our way to success. Turns out, you need a real team, not a fantasy lineup of all-star “full-stack” heroes. Get this right, and you’re golden. Get it wrong, and no amount of cash will save you.
The Reality Check: Your team structure determines everything—from time to market to regulatory compliance to whether your platform actually works when players show up. Get this wrong, and even unlimited budget won’t save you. Get it right, and you’ll wonder why everyone else is struggling.
Why Most iGaming Startups Hire All Wrong (The Data We Wish We Didn’t Have)
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: we’ve analyzed team structures from 150+ iGaming launches over the past three years. The successful ones follow surprisingly similar patterns. The failures? They all made the same five hiring mistakes.
Successful Team Structures
- Average team size at launch: 12-15 people
- Time to hire core team: 8-12 weeks
- Average hiring budget: €45K-€65K recruitment costs
- Success rate: 72% reach profitability
- Critical roles filled first: Compliance, Tech Lead, PM
Failed Team Structures
- Average team size at launch: 6-8 people
- Time to hire core team: 3-4 weeks (rushed)
- Average hiring budget: €15K-€25K recruitment costs
- Success rate: 23% reach profitability
- Critical roles filled first: Marketing, Sales, “Full-stack”
The €800K Hiring Disaster: When “Full-Stack” Goes Full-Wrong
The setup: Well-funded team, experienced founders, hired one “senior full-stack developer” to handle platform integration, compliance automation, and payment processing.
4 months later: Platform crashes during first load test, payment integration fails regulatory audit, compliance system generates false positives, project timeline extended by 8 months.
The lesson: iGaming isn’t web development. You can’t Stack Overflow your way through gambling regulations and financial compliance. Specialists exist for a reason.
The Five Hiring Mistakes Everyone Makes (Including Us)
Okay, time for some uncomfortable honesty. We’re going to walk through the hiring mistakes that kill iGaming projects, and yes, we’ve made every single one of them. Some twice.
1. Hiring “iGaming Experience” Over Core Skills
We once hired a “senior iGaming developer” who talked a great game about RNG systems and bonus mechanics. Turns out, he’d worked at one casino doing basic WordPress maintenance. Meanwhile, we passed on a fintech developer who understood payment compliance but had never touched gambling. Guess who delivered working code?
2. Underestimating Compliance Complexity
Most founders think compliance is “just paperwork” they can handle later. Wrong. Compliance touches every line of code, every user flow, every data structure. Hire your compliance expert before your first developer. Trust us on this one.
3. Hiring for Today, Not Tomorrow
You need someone who can handle 100 concurrent users today, but 10,000 users in six months. Hiring junior developers to save money early will cost you 10x later when you’re rebuilding everything during growth spurts.
4. Geographic Hiring Mistakes
Some roles must be local for legal reasons. Others can be remote. Get this wrong and you’ll either overpay by 200% or create compliance nightmares. We’ll break down the geography strategy below.
5. The “We’ll Figure It Out” Mentality
iGaming moves fast, but hiring wrong people moves faster toward disaster. The “hire now, optimize later” approach killed more projects than market competition ever will.
Essential Roles: Your Launch Team Blueprint
Alright, enough doom and gloom. Let’s talk about what actually works. Here’s the team structure that launches successful projects, with real salary ranges and hiring priorities.
Phase 1: Core Foundation Team (Hire These First)
These four roles are non-negotiable. Don’t even think about platform selection until you have these people.
1. Compliance & Legal Specialist
What They Actually Do:
- Navigate licensing requirements across jurisdictions
- Design KYC/AML processes that actually work
- Ensure platform features meet regulatory standards
- Handle regulator communications
- Set up responsible gambling frameworks
Salary Range:
€65K-€120K (depends on experience and jurisdictions)
Must be local: EU/UK roles need local expertise
Time to hire: 6-8 weeks (they’re rare)
Real Talk: This person saves your project. Period. They’re expensive, hard to find, and worth every euro. Don’t cheap out here.
2. Technical Lead / CTO
What They Actually Do:
- Platform and vendor selection
- Technical architecture decisions
- Integration planning and oversight
- Security and infrastructure design
- Team scaling and hiring plans
Salary Range:
€80K-€150K + equity
Can be remote: But needs EU timezone overlap
Time to hire: 4-6 weeks
Hire for: Fintech/payments experience over gaming. Financial compliance is harder than game mechanics.
3. Project Manager (iGaming-Specific)
What They Actually Do:
- Coordinate between vendors, regulators, and team
- Manage licensing timelines and dependencies
- Handle launch certification processes
- Risk assessment and mitigation planning
- Stakeholder communication and reporting
Salary Range:
€50K-€85K
Must understand: iGaming vendor ecosystem
Time to hire: 3-4 weeks
Critical skill: They need to understand regulatory timelines. Regular PM skills aren’t enough in this industry.
4. Risk & Fraud Specialist
What They Actually Do:
- Design fraud detection systems
- Set up transaction monitoring
- Player behavior analysis frameworks
- Payment security and validation
- Suspicious activity reporting
Salary Range:
€55K-€95K
Background: Banking/fintech fraud experience preferred
Time to hire: 4-5 weeks
Why essential: Fraud hits iGaming harder than any other industry. Day-one fraud protection isn’t optional.
Phase 2: Operational Team (Hire These Next)
Once your foundation is solid, these roles handle the day-to-day operations that keep players happy and regulators satisfied.
Customer Support Lead + Team
Team Size:
1 Lead + 2-3 Agents initially
Salary Range:
Lead: €40K-€65K
Agents: €25K-€40K
Must Have:
Multilingual, gambling regulation knowledge
Data Analyst / BI Specialist
Focus Areas:
Player behavior, revenue optimization, compliance reporting
Salary Range:
€45K-€75K
Tools:
SQL, Python/R, Tableau/PowerBI
Payments & Finance Specialist
Responsibilities:
Payment gateway management, financial reconciliation, fraud monitoring
Salary Range:
€50K-€80K
Background:
Fintech or banking payments experience
Phase 3: Growth Team (Hire After Launch)
Don’t hire these people until you’re actually processing real players and revenue. Seriously. We’ve seen too many startups burn budget on premature marketing teams.
Marketing & Acquisition
- Digital Marketing Manager: €45K-€70K
- Affiliate Manager: €40K-€65K
- Content Creator: €35K-€55K
- SEO/SEM Specialist: €40K-€60K
Hire when you have product-market fit, not before.
Product & Development
- Product Manager: €55K-€85K
- UX/UI Designer: €45K-€70K
- Frontend Developer: €50K-€75K
- Backend Developer: €55K-€80K
Scale development team based on feature demands.
The Geographic Strategy: Where to Hire What
This is where most founders mess up. Some roles must be local for legal reasons. Others can be remote. Get this wrong and you’ll either overpay massively or create compliance disasters.
Must Be Local (Same Country as License)
- • Compliance & Legal Specialist – Regulatory relationships matter
- • Risk & Fraud Specialist – Local banking/AML knowledge required
- • Customer Support Lead – Local hours and language requirements
- • Finance/Accounting – Local tax and reporting compliance
Can Be Remote (But EU Timezone Preferred)
- • Technical Lead/CTO – Technology is universal
- • Project Manager – Communication skills matter more than location
- • Developers – Code works everywhere
- • Data Analyst – Numbers don’t have accents
Hybrid Strategy (Local Lead + Remote Team)
- • Customer Support – Local lead, remote agents for 24/7 coverage
- • Marketing – Local manager who understands regulations, remote specialists
- • Development – Local architect, remote developers
💡 Cost Reality Check
Local hires in UK/Germany/Netherlands cost 40-60% more than equivalent remote talent. But trying to go full-remote for compliance roles will cost you 10x more in regulatory disasters. Choose wisely.
Your 30-Day Hiring Action Plan
Okay, enough theory. Here’s exactly what to do if you’re starting your hiring process tomorrow. We’ve done this enough times to know what works and what wastes time.
Week 1: Foundation Setup
Define Your Hiring Budget
Allocate €300K-€500K for first 12 months of salaries plus €50K-€80K recruitment costs
Choose Your License Jurisdiction
This determines which roles must be local. Can’t hire effectively without this decision.
Set Up Hiring Infrastructure
ATS system, interview processes, reference check procedures. Do this once, use forever.
Week 2-3: Core Team Hiring
Hiring Priority Order (Don’t Deviate):
- Compliance & Legal Specialist (start immediately)
- Technical Lead/CTO (parallel with compliance)
- Project Manager (once tech lead is secured)
- Risk & Fraud Specialist (before any development starts)
Realistic Timelines:
- Compliance roles: 6-8 weeks (they’re unicorns)
- Technical roles: 4-6 weeks
- Project management: 3-4 weeks
- Risk specialist: 4-5 weeks
Week 4: Operational Planning
With Core Team in Place:
- Finalize platform and vendor selections
- Create detailed technical and compliance roadmaps
- Plan Phase 2 hiring based on actual project needs
- Set up team communication and project management tools
Hiring Checklists: Copy These and Use Them
Here are the actual interview questions and evaluation criteria we use. Nothing fancy, just stuff that works.
Compliance Specialist Interview
Technical Questions:
- Walk me through KYC requirements for [target jurisdiction]
- How would you handle a suspicious transaction report?
- Explain the difference between operational and structural compliance
Red Flags:
- Can’t explain specific regulations
- No direct regulator interaction experience
- Focuses on “getting around” rules
Technical Lead Interview
Technical Questions:
- How would you architect a system handling €1M daily transactions?
- Explain your approach to API integration with payment providers
- How do you ensure regulatory compliance in technical architecture?
Green Flags:
- Asks about compliance requirements first
- Mentions security and audit trails unprompted
- Has opinions about vendor selection criteria
📋 Reference Check Cheat Sheet
Here’s how to dig into a candidate’s real skills without the corporate fluff. Use this when you’re chatting with their references:
Hey [Reference Name], I’m checking on [Candidate] for a key role in our iGaming project. Mind sharing a bit about their work?
- How did they deal with regulatory heat or tight compliance deadlines?
- What was their toughest technical or compliance hurdle, and how did they tackle it?
- Would you bring them back for a similar gig? (Listen for any pause here.)
- What kind of team vibe do they thrive in?
Budget Reality: What This Actually Costs
Let’s talk money. Here’s what hiring a proper iGaming team actually costs, broken down by phases so you can plan cash flow.
Phase 1: Core Team (Months 1-3)
Monthly Salary Costs:
- Compliance Specialist: €7,500/month
- Technical Lead: €10,000/month
- Project Manager: €6,000/month
- Risk Specialist: €6,500/month
- Total: €30,000/month
One-Time Costs:
- Recruitment fees: €25,000
- Equipment/setup: €8,000
- Legal/contracts: €5,000
- Training/onboarding: €3,000
- Total: €41,000
3-Month Budget: €131,000 (salaries + one-time costs)
Phase 2: Operational Team (Months 4-6)
Additional Monthly Costs:
- Customer Support Lead: €4,500/month
- Support Agents (2): €5,000/month
- Data Analyst: €5,500/month
- Payments Specialist: €5,500/month
- Additional: €20,500/month
Total Monthly Team Cost:
€50,500/month (Core + Operational)
This gets you a team that can handle 1,000+ active players
Phase 3: Growth Team (Months 7+)
Don’t hire growth team until you have proven product-market fit and positive unit economics.
Marketing Team:
- Digital Marketing Manager: €5,500/month
- Affiliate Manager: €4,500/month
- Content Creator: €3,500/month
Product Team:
- Product Manager: €6,500/month
- UX/UI Designer: €5,000/month
- Developers (2): €10,000/month
⚠️ Cash Flow Warning
Plan for 12-15 months of runway before first profitable month. Most startups underestimate time to revenue and run out of cash during the growth phase.
Ready to Build Your Team?
Look, we get it. Hiring is hard, expensive, and full of hidden gotchas. The difference between success and disaster often comes down to having the right people in place before you need them, not after problems emerge.
At Uberman Agency, we’ve built teams for 150+ iGaming launches. We know where to find the unicorn compliance specialists, how to evaluate technical leads, and which roles you can safely hire remote vs. local.
Our Team Building Services Include:
- • Complete hiring strategy and role definitions
- • Access to our vetted talent network
- • Interview process design and candidate evaluation
- • Salary benchmarking and negotiation support
- • Geographic strategy optimization
- • Team structure scaling plans
- • Onboarding and integration support
- • Ongoing team performance optimization
Stop gambling with your team. Start building strategically.
Discover Our Complete Team Building ServicesTeam building included in our turnkey launch packages. Free consultation to assess your hiring needs.