Gambling.com Group CEO suggests Europe is “less competitive” than US following XLMedia asset acquisition
Charles Gillespie explains to EGR that with industry focus on the US there is an opportunity to push ahead on the other side of the Atlantic
Gambling.com Group CEO Charles Gillespie has said a relatively less competitive market in Europe will be beneficial for the affiliate after its acquisition of XLMedia’s European assets.
Speaking to EGR after the firm confirmed a deal for brands including Freebets.com and WhichBingo which could be worth up to $42.5m, the North Carolinian was bullish on the future outlook for the group.
The deal will see Gambling.com Group pay an initial $20m as part of a $37.5m fixed price, with $5m in variable payments potentially to be made to XLMedia.
While the group has seen substantial growth in North America, with revenue from the region jumping 103% year on year in Q4 to £20.3m, the CEO explained there was untapped potential in Europe.
Gillespie said: “We have always had a global strategy. From our perspective, we’ve achieved what we set out to achieve in North America and, as we look to 2024, there are a lot of markets with a lot of opportunity.
“It’s not just about North America. We will of course continue to grow in North America but we’ll be thinking a little bit more about some of these other markets where, frankly, it’s just less competitive.
“Everybody is all in on the US and that opens up the field substantially to go and make money in some of these other markets,” he added.
As part of the deal, Gambling.com Group will bring the newly acquired assets onto its in-house tech platform while moving over some key staff from XLMedia.
Gillespie added that there would be a “bit of a transition period” for the assets but insisted there was “real potential”. The group has already pegged accretive value for the assets at $10m in revenue and $5m in EBITDA for 2024.
The CEO continued: “We’re very excited about this deal. It is going to substantially drive growth for Gambling.com Group.
“It’s an asset transaction so we’re not taking over a business in its entirety. Our technology platform enables us to run assets more efficiently.
“Part of that is costs. We think we can be more efficient on the cost side of the P&L but a lot of what we will bring to the table will be efficiency in terms of process and revenue growth.
“I think that’s where we’re really going to add value and that’s really going to be the focus. We didn’t buy these assets to cut costs; we bought these assets to run them properly, invest in them and grow them and have them be a major part of our business moving forward,” he concluded.