Former iGaming Workers Reportedly Face Layoffs After Helping Train Artificial Intelligence Models

A former Malta iGaming designer said they lost their job after helping train an artificial intelligence system. They said managers later considered it capable of replacing around half their team. The account emerged on Sunday, 18 October 2026, in interviews published by Times of Malta. Other former workers described abrupt departures and pressure to sign resignation documents.

Gambling operators have adopted AI tools while confronting higher taxes and regulatory costs. GamingMalta, which promotes the industry, disputes reports of significant AI-driven job losses. None of the workers' accounts independently establishes how many jobs the technology has displaced.

Malta iGaming Designer Says AI Training Preceded Job Loss

The designer said colleagues around the world began posting news of job losses in a group chat. 'There was no notice; it happened very randomly,' the former employee told Times of Malta. The designer said they were asked to resign later that day.

Earlier in 2026, the worker's team had trained a system to make design and brand guideline decisions. Managers initially presented it as assistance for designers, according to the account. The worker said management subsequently judged the model capable of replacing around half the design team, including people who had trained it.

That assessment is the worker's account of what management believed, not independent proof that software replaced those employees. Their employer was not identified, and no internal documents confirming the claimed decision were made public.

The designer described the severance offer as barely sufficient to deter a legal challenge. Another former employee, a content writer, said they were dismissed alongside 19 colleagues. They said the group was asked to sign documents describing the departures as resignations. The writer accepted a payment rather than pursue a legal dispute.

Times of Malta reported that other workers declined interviews because they feared legal consequences. Interviewees described non-disclosure agreements linked to their departures. Those accounts do not establish that any agreement or dismissal arrangement was unlawful.

One former worker alleged that hundreds were losing jobs across companies, particularly in marketing, design and search engine optimisation. No independently verified tally supports that figure. The designer also spoke of a 'big sense of uncertainty' surrounding the prospect of being replaced by a machine.

GamingMalta Disputes iGaming AI Layoffs Amid Rising Costs

GamingMalta disputes the suggestion that automation is causing widespread layoffs. A spokesperson described 'talent being redeployed rather than replaced by AI' in comments to Times of Malta. The foundation said changes at individual companies involved small numbers and reflected regulation and taxation in important markets.

One pressure comes from the UK, where Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026. HM Revenue and Customs says it applies to profits from remote gaming with UK customers, including those served from overseas.

In September, bet365 announced plans to cut around 340 roles, roughly 3% of its global workforce. The proposals covered Stoke-on-Trent, Malta and Gibraltar. The operator cited competition and higher regulatory and tax costs, not AI.

Other workers and social media commenters pointed to search algorithm changes and companies moving work to cheaper locations. Those explanations remain unverified in individual redundancy cases.

GamingMalta says MGA-licensed companies recorded 15,039 full-time-equivalent positions at the end of 2025. It estimated 19,150 jobs were supported directly or indirectly by the wider industry. Gambling and betting generated €1.422 billion (£1.2 billion) in gross value added, approximately 6.3% of Malta's economic output.

AI adoption is measurable, even if its effect on jobs remains harder to establish. A KPMG and University of Nevada, Las Vegas International Gaming Institute study surveyed 83 gambling-sector organisations. Of the 81 answering a question about AI types, 81.5% reported using generative AI.

Among generative AI users, 92.4% used it to produce text and 62.1% to generate images. Looking three to five years ahead, 53% of all 83 respondents expected retraining and major role changes but little overall change in staffing. Another 10.8% anticipated a net reduction in jobs.