As PrizePicks leadership weighs options for the company’s future, there is a new CEO at its helm.
PrizePicks announced Monday founder Adam Wexler will transition to executive chairman while Mike Ybarra takes over as CEO, effective immediately. Ybarra begins as CEO soon after news surfaced PrizePicks hired an investment bank to explore potential mergers and acquisitions.
“I am unbelievably proud of what we have built at PrizePicks,” Wexler said in a release. “Through our culture of constant innovation and having a player-first mindset, PrizePicks has achieved explosive growth. Attracting someone with Mike’s background is a true testament to our legitimacy and success to date, and it is a great honor to partner with him. Mike’s track record of introducing fan favorite games, driving development initiatives and scaling large customer bases will propel us to new heights.”
Transition period for PrizePicks
The leadership transition comes less than a week after news surfaced the DFS company hired Moelis & Co. to explore potential mergers and acquisitions. PointsBet hired Moelis & Co. prior to Fanatics‘ acquisition of the US sportsbook.
Bloomberg reported PrizePicks is not looking for an outright sale.
PrizePicks is the most downloaded DFS app in the US and the company boasts a user base of more than “10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings.” Its app downloads grew 64% last football season, according to Citizens JMP Securities.
While DFS competitors like Betr and Underdog Fantasy are transitioning players to official sportsbooks in some markets, PrizePicks has not shown interest in operating regulated US sports betting. Its ‘pick ‘em’ product has garnered regulatory scurtiny across the US sports betting market.
Big opportunity waiting?
PrizePicks is available to users 19 and up in 33 states and Washington DC. Two of those markets are California and Texas, where sports betting is not legal and its pick ’em product offers a similar alternative.
With a head start on a sportsbook user database in those markets, PrizePicks could be an early leader in those major states, an industry source previously told LSR.
“At the end of the day, PrizePicks can acquire a small sportsbook, and they can start the process of building up their tech for one day when California launches, they’re ready; when Texas launches, they’re ready,” the source said. “I would imagine that’s probably what they’re looking for. But at the end of the day just because you hire bankers doesn’t mean you’re going to do some huge acquisition. You might do something smaller and do a tuck-in that’s going to help some part of your business and grow from there.”
PrizePicks gains experienced leader
Ybarra comes to PrizePicks after most recently serving as president of the video game developer Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard has more than 13,000 employees, and developed video game series like StarCraft and WarCraft.
He joined Blizzard in November 2019 as executive vice president and general manager of platform and technology, ascending to president in August 2021. Prior to that, Ybarra spent 20 years at Microsoft, including vice president roles within the Windows and Xbox divisions.
“Under [Wexler’s] tenure, PrizePicks has experienced a period of remarkable growth and enters this transition with an incredible amount of momentum and strength,” Jon Hallett, member of PrizePicks’ Board of Managers said in a release. “Mike Ybarra is the right leader for the next phase of the company’s journey, and we are pleased that he will be partnering with Adam to unlock future expansion opportunities.”
