Gillespie exits CEO seat at Gambling.com Group as McCrystle steps in

Having co-founded the business with McCrystle in 2006, Gillespie has held positions as group CEO and director since inception and has served as chairman of the board since May 2024. Throughout his tenure, Gillespie has overseen the company’s operations across geos, including Europe and the US. Commenting on the role change, Gillespie said he looks forward to continuing to work with McCrystle, together moving into “the next phase of the company’s growth”.

“I have spent my entire adult life building Gambling.com Group with Kevin,” Gillespie said. “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.”

Michael Quartieri, lead independent director of the group, added that under Gillespie’s leadership, the business “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”. He thanked Gillespie on behalf of the board 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”.

McCrystle has served as Gambling.com Group’s COO since 2007 and as a director since May 2024, overseeing the primary revenue verticals, including developing and implementing strategies for product, marketing, content, sales, technology, operations and the integration of key acquisitions. Relocated to the company’s subsidiary in Dublin, Ireland in 2015, he built the affiliate’s European team before moving to its headquarters in Charlotte, US to guide its development in the North American market.

On his new role, McCrystle said he felt “honoured by the trust the board has shown” and “excited by the many opportunities” the group plans to execute in the coming years.

“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,” McCrystle said. “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 energised 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.”

Quartieri added: “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.”

During 2025, Gambling.com Group generated revenue of $165.4 million (£123.8 million/€143.3 million), representing 30% year-on-year growth. Gillespie and McCrystle will jointly host the company’s Q1 2026 results conference call, scheduled for mid-May.