Asia’s iGaming sector is drawing from an increasingly limited pool of top talent, with operators and suppliers competing for the same 200 senior executives across the region, according to Chris Lu, Founder of recruitment firm Usobi.
Speaking at SiGMA Asia 2026, Lu said the Asia iGaming talent shortage has become one of the industry’s biggest challenges. “We are actually hiring the same 200 people for senior roles in Asia,” Lu said. “It’s a very big competition.”
Her comments reflect a wider trend across the global labour market, where employers are struggling to find workers with specialised skills. According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Future of Jobs Report 2025, nearly 40 per cent of workers’ core skills are expected to change or become outdated by 2030, while skills gaps remain one of the biggest barriers to business transformation.
Why one senior hire can outperform 10 junior recruits
As competition for talent intensifies, Lu believes many companies are approaching hiring the wrong way. She said founders often attempt to reduce costs by hiring large numbers of junior employees instead of investing in experienced leadership. “Ten juniors are not going to change your company,” Lu said. “They’re only going to operate what is already working.”
Instead, she recommends hiring one experienced leader and building a team around them. According to Lu, senior professionals bring knowledge, processes and strategic direction that can help develop the next generation of talent within an organisation. “Bring one senior and train them. That could change the whole thing,” she said.
The argument is supported by broader workforce trends. The WEF identifies leadership, talent management, resilience and adaptability among the fastest-growing skills required by employers over the next five years.
Why vision matters more than salary
While compensation remains important, Lu said the strongest candidates are rarely motivated by money alone. She recalled placing a senior executive earlier this year who accepted a role despite receiving higher-paying offers elsewhere.
The deciding factor was the company’s ability to communicate a clear long-term vision. “They didn’t just sell her the position,” Lu said. “They sold her a vision.” According to Lu, top executives want to understand where a business is heading and how they can contribute to its growth. “She told me it felt like she wasn’t joining a job. She was joining a vision.”
Research increasingly suggests that employers competing for scarce talent must offer more than financial incentives. A recent labour market study examining millions of AI-related job vacancies found that employers frequently compete for high-demand talent through both salary and non-financial benefits, including career development, workplace culture and long-term opportunities.
A Reward Gateway survey of 3,200 respondents found that some workers would trade a 10 per cent salary increase for factors such as better workplace culture, purpose and growth opportunities. Reflecting this shift, both the US Department of Labor and the United Nations describe a “good job” as one that offers social protection, personal development, and fair treatment alongside fair pay.
Three skills that will define future iGaming leaders
As regulation tightens and technologies such as AI continue reshaping the industry, Lu believes three skills will become increasingly important. The first is a cross-cultural experience. “The time of only knowing one market is gone,” she said. With operators expanding across multiple jurisdictions, employers are increasingly seeking professionals who understand different markets, customer behaviours and business cultures.
The second is multilingual capability. According to Lu, English remains essential, but professionals who can combine it with another major language have a clear advantage. “Bilingual talent is becoming a new currency in our industry,” she said.
The third is AI fluency. Rather than waiting for employers to provide training, Lu believes professionals should already be using AI tools in their day-to-day work. “The people who stand out are already using AI every day,” she said.
That view aligns with findings from LinkedIn’s Work Change Report, which predicts that 70 per cent of the skills used in most jobs will change by 2030, with AI acting as one of the biggest drivers of workforce transformation. The WEF also ranks AI and big data among the fastest-growing skills globally, alongside cybersecurity, technological literacy and leadership.
Lu’s emphasis on AI reflects a broader shift already underway across industries. Academic research analysing millions of job vacancies found growing demand for AI-complementary skills, including digital literacy, teamwork and adaptability. Researchers concluded that AI is increasing demand for workers who can work alongside technology rather than simply replacing jobs.
Why panic hiring often leads to mistakes
Many gaming companies face pressure to scale quickly, particularly during periods of rapid growth. According to Lu, this often leads to reactive hiring decisions. “When the revenue becomes too big for the team to handle, that’s where they start panic hiring,” she said.
The result can be poor recruitment decisions, cultural misalignment and expensive turnover. Instead, Lu advises companies to begin succession planning and executive recruitment months before a role becomes critical. “Senior hires are not positions you fill,” she said. “They are relationships you build.”
She recommends beginning conversations with prospective C-level candidates three to six months before a planned hire. That approach allows both parties to build trust, align expectations and determine whether there is a long-term fit.
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