Gambling.com Group Plc has become a member of the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association and Gavin Walters, the Group’s director of business development, has been appointed to the FSGA’s board of directors.

The FSGA was known as the Fantasy Sports Trade Association until recently. The FSGA’s rebrand to include gaming and the recruitment of new members with specific sports betting expertise is part of a broader effort by the FSGA to expand into regulated sports betting. The Group and Walters bring their experience and leadership from the largest sports betting markets in the world to aid the FSGA in supporting the growth of the nascent U.S. sports betting market.

In joining the FSGA’s board of directors, Walters sits alongside representatives from FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, USA TODAY, National Football League (NFL), Chalkline Sports, VSiN and more. The FSGA board of directors provides strategic direction and oversight to the association, whose mission is to help grow fantasy sports and legalized sports betting in America.

Walters joined Gambling.com Group in November 2017 as director of business development. Walters helped drive the Group’s acquisition of Bookies.com, which re-launched earlier this year with a new, U.S. first focus. Prior to joining the Group, Walters was head of business at Catena Media, after starting his career at bet365.

Gavin Walters commented, “Having operated a fast-growing business in the online gaming and sports betting market in Europe for more than 12 years, Gambling.com Group has accumulated a wealth of experience that can be leveraged in the fast-growing U.S. market. One aspect we look forward to working with the FSGA is in helping to educate and inform legislators and policy makers about what good sports gaming policy looks like, much like the association did with fantasy sports.”

Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, commented on Walters joining its board, “Earlier this year the association announced its intent to embrace the rapid legal and technological changes facing the sports industry by expanding its focus beyond fantasy sports to include sports gaming. As such, the FSGA has recruited leaders with proven experience to ensure we can support our members with continuous growth in sports gaming. Gavin is an expert and will be a valuable addition to our board of directors.”