“Imagine you’re in Las Vegas and you see all those screens with games on them. We’re going to mirror that here,” Mike Ybarra, PrizePicks CEO, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the design of the new office.
Credit: Courtesy PrizePicks
Credit: Courtesy PrizePicks
A successful startup that sprang out of Atlanta Tech Village, PrizePicks has created one of the most downloaded free sports apps and is a major player in the daily fantasy sports market. While sports betting and gambling is illegal in Georgia, daily fantasy sites like PrizePicks say they are considered games of skill — not chance — and are permitted under Peach State law.
Ybarra compared his platform’s users to mutual fund managers, who make investments and hope to get a positive financial return.
“Daily fantasy sports is very much similar in terms of the lineups, the characteristics, the stats, the knowledge and the expertise you have to have in order to be successful,” he said.
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Gov. Brian Kemp, who has previously opposed legalizing sports betting, celebrated the PrizePicks expansion, saying it doubles down on two fast-growing Georgia industries: technology and sports. Midtown office buildings house several Fortune 500 tech companies and startups, while Atlanta’s sports venues will host World Cup matches in 2026 and the Super Bowl in 2028.
Kemp added that expansions accounted for 9,800 new jobs in Georgia during the most recent fiscal year.
“That’s a testament to these companies’ and these innovators’ work,” Kemp said. “It’s also a testament to the priority we place on building long-term relationships with our job creators in this state, and PrizePicks is certainly a big part of that growth.”
PrizePicks will likely be eligible for at least $3 million in state income tax credits for adding the new jobs. The Georgia Department of Economic Development said no discretionary incentives were offered to recruit the PrizePicks expansion.
Ybarra was selected as PrizePicks’ chief executive in August, succeeding founder and Sandy Springs native Adam Wexler, who is now the company’s executive chairman. Ybarra spent more than 20 years with Microsoft and was previously president of video game giant Blizzard Entertainment.
“The video game space and the (daily fantasy sports) space, they’re different but they share a lot of similarities,” he said. “Everything we did (at Blizzard) was to keep the player at the heart of those decisions. And that’s the same culture and mentality that they have here at PrizePicks.”
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Credit: Olivia Bowdoin
Ybarra said the company’s Atlanta roots are also a competitive advantage, since so few of its peers are located in the Southeast. FanDuel, whose platform is not legal in Georgia, has leased offices within the bustling Ponce City Market since 2022.
He said Atlanta is a sports and music juggernaut that helps keep PrizePicks on the cutting-edge of culture, which he said will be reflected in its new headquarters.
“We learn from the city and apply that to our products,” he said. “How do we represent Atlanta in the right way? We take that very seriously as well.”
