Machibet Affiliate PrizePicks Announces Former Blizzard Executive Mike Ybarra as CEO

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson reacts after running for a touchdown as we look at PrizePicks naming its new CEO. — Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson reacts after running for a touchdown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Photo by: Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports.

It might not be one of our best sports betting sites, but it's one of the biggest names in the daily fantasy sports industry.

PrizePicks has found its new CEO, that former Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra will take on the role.

Ybarra succeeds Adam Wexler, who's one of PrizePicks' co-founders. Wexler will transition into a new role as PrizePicks' executive chairman. Wexler co-founded PrizePicks in 2017, and he helped the company transform from essentially a startup to one of the biggest names in daily fantasy sports.

“I am unbelievably proud of what we have built at PrizePicks," said Wexler in a statement. "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.”

Ybarra's recent work

The new CEO of PrizePicks has been a leader in the tech and entertainment industry for more than two decades.

He started at Blizzard Entertainment in November 2019. During that time, he took over the lead on business growth for the company's software portfolio, which includes well-recognized titles such as Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch.

“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.”

Before his time at Blizzard, Ybarra spent more than 20 years in development, product management, and leadership roles at Microsoft.

Challenges facing PrizePicks

It's an important and challenging time for PrizePicks, as well as the daily fantasy sports industry as a whole.

The company is set to open its new headquarters in Atlanta, which coincides with its efforts to expand its workforce. PrizePicks could provide 1,000 new jobs over the next seven years.

However, PrizePicks (and many DFS providers) have faced regulatory headaches as the usage of the best sportsbooks continues to grow.

PrizePicks has faced various citations and hurdles, forcing it to modify how it offers DFS.

It's most recently found success with PrizePicks Arena, which allows customers to face one another in a peer-to-peer format rather than square off against "the house." This provides a new twist on a classic game while also helping the company stay compliant with state sports betting laws.

PrizePicks launched Arena in the Florida sports betting scene, Tennessee sports betting scene, West Virginia sports betting scene, Wyoming sports betting scene, and Alabama after having legal operating issues in several states.

Written By:
Andrew Brennan

Andrew Brennan is a publishing editor for Sportsbook Review. He also heads the website’s MLB coverage, from the various futures markets to daily picks. Andrew believes a math-based approach is the best way to enjoy long-term success in sports betting, and he’s spent the better part of the last year fine-tuning his own process for MLB, NBA, and NFL picks. Andrew uses eight different sportsbooks to find the best odds available and various projection models to gather as much information as he can. His most used sportsbooks are bet365, FanDuel, and theScore Bet. When it comes to daily projection models, he regularly references NumberFire across all sports, as it’s one of the best free tools available. In terms of which daily markets Andrew attacks, he almost exclusively bets on pitcher strikeouts for baseball. When the winter rolls around, you’ll see him providing more variety when it comes to the NBA (points, assists, rebounds) and NFL (almost any offensive-based player prop). He used these tools to go +150 units in 2023. Andrew is also a passionate fantasy sports player. He’s played fantasy football, fantasy Premier League, and fantasy baseball for the last decade. He graduated from Durham College with his diploma in journalism after earning his degree in law from Carleton University. He’s worked in sports media since early 2017, first contributing at FanSided before moving to theScore. He joined SBR in 2022.