PrizePicks has ended its hunt for a new CEO after announcing former Blizzard Entertainment president, Mike Ybarra, has accepted the position, allowing current CEO and co-founder, Adam Wexler, to ascend as the company’s executive chairman.
Meet the New Boss
Mike Ybarra spent nearly 20 years at Microsoft in development and leadership roles before accepting a position on Blizzard Entertainment’s executive team in 2019 as its executive vice president and general manager. After less than two years he was promoted to president in 2021 and has guided the software giant until recently accepting the job at PrizePicks.
“I am impressed with the passion, positive energy, and incredible team at PrizePicks and want to thank Adam and the board for this opportunity,” Ybarra said. “PrizePicks is the most exciting company in sports and entertainment today, and it’s an honor to join as CEO. I have tremendous respect for the foundation that Adam has built and look forward to working with him and the team.”
The wealth of experience Ybarra brings to PrizePicks, a company that has grown exponentially since its inception in 2017, should allow for a seamless transition. Ybarra’s tenure at Blizzard includes the development of video game classics such as Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch.
“I am unbelievably proud of what we have built at PrizePicks,” said Wexler in a press 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,” added Wexler.
Thin Gray Line
PrizePicks has skirted the thin gray line between daily fantasy sports and bookmaker with parlay-style pick’em contests that have caused some states like Michigan to ban those contests, asserting they are too similar to sportsbooks’ offerings. Nevertheless, the company continues to attract customers at a dizzying pace in those states in which it operates.
PrizePicks Arena is a new spin on a classic DFS game and it is a traditional peer-to-peer model with prizes awarded to those at the top of the contest rankings. The company has rolled this offering out in Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Alabama.
PrizePicks has also ventured back into the Michigan market but its games are now free, which avoids any regulatory issues. Keeping its name in the markets it had exited with free contests is a strategy that will allow it to operate in the event circumstances change.
What Should We Expect?
How Ybarra will guide PrizePicks going forward will likely be similar to the strategic initiatives implemented by Wexler. The company is firmly entrenched in the DFS market but it is also operating pick’em parlay-style contests in states like California that have yet to legalize sports betting.
Building a database of customers in the Golden State is critical to success in the sports betting arena, as it is a proven strategy that mobile sports betting leaders FanDuel and DraftKings employed as the pioneers of DFS before those states legalized sports betting.
While other sportsbooks were scurrying for customers once a state launched its sports betting industry, the two industry leaders had a massive list of DFS customers who were easily convinced to become sports bettors with promotions and signup bonuses used as enticements.
