The gambling sector is a good industry to get into due to its consistent popularity and high profitability. Over the last decade, the gambling industry has grown incrementally. Between 2022 and 2023, the industry made a gross yield of £15.1 billion. This reflected an increase of over 200%, with 2013’s yield being £6.3 billion.
The UK features over 150 casino venues, with most major cities featuring several in central locations. Within each, a wide range of roles are available. This includes general managers, dealers, slot machine technicians, marketing managers, and so on.
Table of contents
Are land-based casino positions viable?
Despite the booming brick-and-mortar casino industry, many would consider the online gambling industry to be the most future-proof. They accept more payment methods than most physical casinos, which include eWallets and cryptocurrency.
Most offshore casino sites now accept some form of cryptocurrency as a means of payment, normally Bitcoin. Physical casinos based in the UK, on the other hand, don’t accept cryptocurrency. While you can use the likes of Apple Pay at Genting Casinos, credit and debit cards remain the preferred payment option at most land-based casinos.
This would suggest that online casino sites are looking more to the future. They’re more likely to embrace new technology and, as a result, appeal to a wider audience.
However, it’s impossible to completely recreate the excitement of a real casino online. People enjoy visiting casinos not just for the gambling, but also for the atmosphere, live entertainment, and the opportunity to socialise.
These aspects have helped maintain UK casinos as nightlife and entertainment hubs. The whole gambling market increased during the 2023 financial year by 6.8%, with land-based casinos making the most profit and growth.
👉 This would suggest that physical casinos have made a significant recovery from the pandemic and today feature many viable career options.
Career options in land-based casinos
The top career options in land-based casinos are as follows:
Casino general manager
A casino general manager oversees all aspects of the casino’s operations. They’re responsible for coming up with strategic plans, overseeing regulatory compliance, and hiring and firing staff members.
They’re the person that customers talk to should they have a complaint, so they must be knowledgeable, well-spoken, and approachable. If the casino becomes poorly run or fails to turn over a profit, the blame lies on the manager.
Like most managerial positions, running a land-based casino is a highly demanding and pressure-intensive job.
💷 The annual salary of a casino general manager is approximately £45k but can be much higher than this.
According to our data, the minimum or entry-level salary for this position is considerably lower. But experience determines salary, ultimately.
Pit boss
Casino pit bosses manage the casino from the gambling floor. They walk around the slot machines and tables and make sure that regulations are being met. They monitor both customers and staff members to ensure good gaming conduct is being upheld.
👀 Should a dispute arise between a customer and a dealer, the pit boss will work to resolve it. This is another customer-facing senior position that requires exceptional communication skills.
Pit bosses must also have a broad understanding of gambling rules in order to make calls on disputes.
💷 Pit boss salaries range from £33 to £57k. Although again, experience may warrant a higher salary, as will the venue.
Dealers
Casino dealers are responsible for setting up table games and ensuring that gaming rules are adhered to. Should they be dealing with rookie gamblers, they’ll explain the rules of the game before setting up the game.
In poker and blackjack, the dealer will count cards, shuffle the deck, and deal hands. In roulette, the dealer will drop the roulette ball into the wheel. Some casinos encourage dealers to implement anti-card counting measures whilst dealing.
This could include shuffling with several decks at a time or engaging gamblers in conversation to distract them.
💷 The average salary for a dealer in the UK is £25,912. However, salaries can range widely and reach as high as £60k. Remember dealers often get tipped big by punters that get lucky.
Slot machine technician
Most casinos employ an on-site slot machine technician to fix slot machines should they break down. Given that the likes of the Hippodrome Casino have over 100 electronic gaming machines, it makes sense for there to be full-time technicians available to provide around-the-clock support.
Not only do these technicians repair machines, but they also install new ones, remove old ones, and provide regular maintenance checks.
💷 The average salary for a slot technician in the UK is £31k. However, senior-level slot technicians can earn upwards of £36k.
Marketing manager
Marketing managers are required to draw new customers into casinos. Whilst casinos depend mainly on returning customers, it’s important to keep attracting new gamblers in order to keep the business sustainable.
Marketing managers must coordinate advertisement campaigns and come up with promotional ideas. Marketing managers must also analyse previous marketing campaigns and measure their success rates. They can then use the findings to inform future campaigns.
💷 Senior-level marketing managers can earn as much as £55k+ per year.
