PrizePicks’ Continuous Growth Journey
2025 has been a busy year for fantasy sports operator PrizePicks.
In September, European lottery giant Allwyn said it planned to acquire a majority stake in PrizePicks in a deal that valued the company at around $2.5 billion and underscored investor confidence in PrizePick's business model and market opportunity. And just last month, the company hit a major milestone: new partnerships with prediction market providers Polymarket and Kalshi, which will give PrizePicks users a new, dynamic way to make predictions on outcomes across sports, entertainment and pop culture.
“Expanding into prediction markets delivers on what our customers want: innovative products with more ways to play,” PrizePicks CEO Mike Ybarra said in a statement on the company’s website.
These alliances complement other recent developments, too, such as PrizePicks new partnership with Mindway AI, a gaming software company that provides automated detection and monitoring of at-risk and problem gaming behavior. From a regulatory perspective, PrizePicks also recently became the first sports entertainment operator to receive a Futures Commission Merchant registration from the National Futures Association this year, which enables the organization to accept orders from platform users to buy and sell futures contracts offered by Designated Contract Markets that are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
With 2026 on the horizon, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Jay Deuskar said he believes that PrizePicks is primed for even more growth.
“We want to build the best unified sports experience in daily fantasy sports and prediction markets, and that’s a fun mission,” Deuskar said.
So, what’s next for PrizePicks? Deuskar said he’s excited to help drive major initiatives in the coming year, including building “the smoothest customer experience in the industry.”
Below, Deuskar shares more about PrizePicks’ growth journey, including how they’ve maintained momentum and what the future holds.
The Milestones That Have Defined PrizePicks’ Evolution — And What Comes Next
Describe your role and responsibilities at PrizePicks.
As chief technology officer, I oversee the technology departments at PrizePicks — data strategy, engineering, infrastructure and reliability, and security/IT — and I work closely with product to develop the PrizePicks Platform.
Which breakthrough most accelerated PrizePicks’ growth?
Our focus on finding and keeping product-market fit, our deep understanding of who our customers are and what they want, and our marketing strategy focused on building an exciting, authentic brand and community have all been drivers of our growth over the last eight years.
Share a growth metric that captures PrizePicks’ current momentum.
We’re the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America and have recently launched our prediction markets platform for millions of monthly active users.
How have processes evolved to maintain quality during scale-up?
Processes at the business have constantly evolved as we’ve grown from 100 employees to more than 500 to bring more structure and promote communication across teams and departments. We’re conscious of not engaging in process for the sake of process.
“We’re conscious of not engaging in process for the sake of process.”
Describe a calculated risk that paid off — and one that didn’t.
Risk that paid off: redesigning a fantasy sports game from the ground up to appeal to the mass market sports fan.
Risk that hasn’t paid off yet: We continue to experiment with different engagement mechanisms in our product, such as free-to-play games, mini games and different rewards. There’s more to come in 2026!
How Teams at PrizePicks Stay Aligned Amid Scale
- “Clear priorities at the business level that line up with department/team goals.”
- “Clear operating model and communication across teams.”
What cultural element has been the hardest to preserve amid expansion?
Staying fast and agile is challenging as you grow an organization and want to strike the right balance between quality and speed.
What type of talent is necessary to have for PrizePicks to hit its next growth goals?
Individual contributors who have a builder mentality and like to own more than just writing code.
Which milestone are you most excited to accomplish in the next year?
We want to build the best unified sports experience in daily fantasy sports and prediction markets, and that’s a fun mission. I’m especially excited about working to build the smoothest customer experience in the industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
How well-positioned is PrizePicks for long-term growth?
PrizePicks is valued at approximately $2.5 billion following a planned majority acquisition by Allwyn and continues to expand through new partnerships, regulatory approvals and product launches, signaling strong investor confidence and long-term momentum.
What kind of products and technology is PrizePicks building next?
The company is expanding beyond daily fantasy sports into prediction markets and is focused on creating the smoothest customer experience in the industry across sports, entertainment and pop culture.
How does PrizePicks manage growth while maintaining quality?
As the company has grown from around 100 employees to more than 500, it has added structure and improved cross-team communication while avoiding unnecessary process that could slow teams down.
What type of talent does PrizePicks look for as it scales?
PrizePicks looks for individual contributors with a builder mentality — people who want ownership beyond writing code and who enjoy helping shape products and systems as the company grows.
