CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 14, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gambling.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: GAMB) (“Gambling.com Group” or the “Group”), a leading provider of player acquisition services for the regulated global online gambling industry, today noted the signing of House Bill 347 to allow legal, regulated online sports betting across North Carolina – becoming the 28th state to do so. HB 347 requires the state lottery to publish online sports betting regulations by January 8, 2024, and to authorize sports betting operators to start accepting wagers within one year from today.
The legalization of online sports betting in North Carolina is a highlight for Gambling.com Group’s co-founders and Charlotte natives, Charles Gillespie and Kevin McCrystle, who during their time at UNC Chapel Hill started the business that would become Gambling.com Group in 2006. With no regulated online gambling in the United States at the time, Gillespie and McCrystle left North Carolina to build a fully licensed performance marketing business focused on online gambling with the regulated United Kingdom and Ireland markets as the Group’s initial core. In 2018, the Group turned its focus back to the United States after the Supreme Court invalidated the federal prohibition on sports betting. In the years since, Gambling.com Group’s business in North America has grown from under $2 million in revenue in 2019 to nearly $36 million for the 2022 full-year period.
Today, the Group has its primary U.S. office in Charlotte, which the Charlotte Business Journal described as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2022. In his role of Chief Operating Officer, Mr. McCrystle is now once again based in Charlotte and leads the local NC team in addition to overseeing the Group’s global operations, which employ over 400 full-time employees and contractors.
Charles Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer, said, “Kevin and I started our journey to build the pre-eminent online gambling affiliate operator in 2006 from an idea that formed in a dorm room in Chapel Hill, and which quickly led us abroad to find regulated markets where we could apply our expertise and passion. Our journey to building one of the world’s leading online gambling performance marketing companies has now come full circle with the legalization of online sports betting in North Carolina. I applaud and congratulate the State’s General Assembly leaders and Governor Cooper for making regulated online sports betting a reality. The next generation of North Carolina entrepreneurs will be able to dive straight into opportunities in this exciting industry.”
Gambling.com Group stands ready to apply its proven formula in North Carolina to help residents and visitors identify, assess and access the online sportsbooks that will be regulated by the NC Lottery. The Group helps licensed online gambling operators acquire players through its portfolio of websites, including Gambling.com, Bookies.com, RotoWire.com and the soon-to-launch, Casinos.com, as well as state-specific websites like BetCarolina.com — which the Group launched in March 2022 to help residents find up-to-date information on NC-specific sports betting topics such as legislative updates, breaking news about the push for regulation and betting coverage of local teams – as well as through the Charlotte Observer, Raleigh News & Observer and the Durham Herald-Sun via the Group’s media partnership with The McClatchy Company.
“After traveling all around the world helping to expand regulated betting markets, it is amazing to finally be home in North Carolina and have access to legal online sports betting,” said McCrystle. “Our talented team in North Carolina and across the globe are well positioned to help operators and customers in the Tarheel State succeed as the legal North American sports betting industry continues to grow and succeed.”
Performance marketing companies, or affiliates, such as Gambling.com Group, are a critical tool for regulators to channel customers toward their new, legal sports betting options and away from offshore sportsbooks which are subject to minimal oversight, are not taxed and provide risks to players’ deposits and winnings. As an online resource for sports betting, affiliates help millions of customers make informed decisions on where to place their wagers and therefore must be held to stringent standards of responsibility and safety. Gambling.com Group works hand-in-hand with regulated sports betting operators and is an integral part of the ecosystem in establishing and maintaining the sustainability of the legal market, which will begin to provide consumer protection for North Carolina sports bettors. The Group believes that North Carolina will not only grow jobs in the state but will keep revenue that is currently flowing to neighboring states such as Virginia and Tennessee where sports betting has been regulated for years, not to mention offshore websites.
North Carolina’s population of nearly 11 million adults has the potential to become one of the largest sports betting markets in the United States. Legislators forecast more than $100 million in tax revenue a year within five years of sports betting launching in the state. Gambling.com Group enables sportsbook operators to acquire customers without broadcasting highly visible advertising on TV which impacts everyone, including young people. Because affiliates predominantly provide resources to motivated consumers actively seeking out information, companies like Gambling.com Group are an ideal alternative to traditional advertising in the industry.
According to a recent survey conducted by BetCarolina.com, nearly 16% of North Carolina adults already bet on sports and 31% said they are either “very likely” or “likely” to bet when the state launches sports betting statewide. A quarter of those surveyed said they would bet at least monthly, and nearly half said they would bet at least once a year.
About Gambling.com Group Limited
Gambling.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: GAMB) (the “Group”) is a multi-award-winning performance marketing company and a leading provider of digital marketing services active in the online gambling industry. Founded in 2006, the Group has offices globally, primarily operating in the United States and Ireland. Through its proprietary technology platform, the Group publishes a portfolio of premier branded websites including Gambling.com, Bookies.com and RotoWire.com. The Group owns and operates more than 50 websites in seven languages across 15 national markets covering all aspects of the online gambling industry, including iGaming and sports betting, and the fantasy sports industry.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that relate to our current expectations and views of future events. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements North Carolina will grow jobs in the state and keep revenue that is currently flowing to neighboring states, and the amount of tax revenue that may be generated, are all forward looking statements. These statements represent our opinions, expectations, beliefs, intentions, estimates or strategies regarding the future, which may not be realized. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “expect,” “predict,” “potential,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “ongoing,” “future” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are based largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies, changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially and/or significantly different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statement. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, see the risks and other factors detailed in “Item 3. Key Information – Risk Factors” in Gambling.com Group’s annual report filed on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 23, 2023 and Gambling.com Group’s other filings with the SEC as such factors may be updated from time to time. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Gambling.com Group disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by applicable law.
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Contacts
Media:
Jennifer Arapoff, Gambling.com Group, [email protected]
Jordan Bieber, 5W Public Relations, [email protected]
Investors:
Peter McGough, Gambling.com Group, [email protected]
Richard Land, Norberto Aja, JCIR, [email protected]