Gambling.com Group has announced a leadership transition with co-founder and long-serving CEO Charles Gillespie becoming executive chairman, and chief operating officer Kevin McCrystle stepping up as CEO.
Gillespie has served as CEO of the online gambling affiliate for 20 years and will be succeeded by McCrystle, who has served as COO since 2007 and is also a co-founder of the business.
The appointments will be effective at the conclusion of the company’s Annual General Meeting, which is expected to take place in mid-May.
McCrystle has served on the Board of Directors since May 2024 and is based at the company’s US headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Under Charles’ leadership, Gambling.com Group has grown from just an idea to become the first publicly traded online gambling affiliate in the United States that today is a large, highly profitable, global marketing and data services business that has engaged millions of consumers and provides products and services to hundreds of online gaming companies,” said Michael Quartieri, lead independent director of Gambling.com Group.
“Quite simply, his vision, accomplishments and 20-year tenure as CEO of Gambling.com Group make him one of the longest-serving and most successful CEOs in the history of the online gambling industry. As executive chairman, Charles’ insights and guidance will continue to benefit the company including through his active role in evaluating strategic M&A opportunities and ensuring the company remains at the forefront of the AI revolution.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors, we sincerely thank Charles for his 20 years of outstanding service to the company as our first and only CEO and look forward to his continued contributions in his role as executive chairman.”
Quartieri continued: “Since the company’s inception, Kevin and Charles have worked in lockstep on the execution of all of its key initiatives. Kevin is an incredible leader, and with his vast knowledge of our business and the industry he is highly respected by all of our internal and external stakeholders.
“The Board is highly confident he is ideally suited to become our next CEO to continue to lead and execute on the initiatives already in place to keep the company moving forward as it becomes a bigger player in the online gambling ecosystem.”
Commenting on his appointment, McCrystle said: “I am honored by the trust the Board has shown me and excited by the many opportunities we are executing on to grow Gambling.com Group in the years ahead. It has been a great joy working alongside Charles as we jointly transformed our vision into a leading company in the online gambling ecosystem, and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration in our new roles.
“Over the years, we have had many different phases of growth, from the early startup days right out of college, to developing our early international headquarters in Ireland, to PASPA pivoting our focus to our home country in the US, to becoming a publicly traded company. Each phase has required us to individually focus on different areas of the business and operations in order for the overall company to succeed.
“With our fast-growing sports data services business, the ongoing diversification of our marketing business and the powers of AI rapidly changing how we operate, it’s clear we are now in a new growth execution phase. As we continue to implement our strategic initiatives, I am energized to take over the CEO role and lead the entire company with our founder-led company values to best position Gambling.com Group for long-term growth.”
Gillespie added: “I have spent my entire adult life building Gambling.com Group with Kevin and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him as we move into the next phase of the company’s growth.
“As we continue to grow our sports data services business, reinvent our marketing business and embrace an AI led future, now is the right time to refresh our leadership team and give our most talented leader the full reins to drive all parts of the business.”
Shares in Gambling.com Group Ltd (NASDAQ:GAMB) closed 1.50 per cent lower at $3.93 per share in New York Thursday.