Prophet Exchange prepares for New Jersey launch with key hires

Peer-to-peer sports betting exchange Prophet Exchange has made several new hires as it prepares to launch in New Jersey this summer.
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Peer-to-peer sports betting exchange Prophet Exchange has made several new hires as it prepares to launch in New Jersey this summer.

Matt Stolarz has been appointed as Prophet’s Director of Technical Product, Zhifeng Shi has been hired as the firm’s new Director of Software Engineering, and Casey Halpern has been appointed as the sports betting exchange’s new Director of Social Media & Content.

Stolarz was previously a Senior Software Engineer at Caesars Entertainment, serving in the same role at William Hill leading up to Caesars’ acquisition of the firm in 2021. He and his team were responsible for the sportsbook’s launch in New Jersey and across the US.

“I am beyond excited to join Prophet Exchange to help guide and build the first and best sports betting exchange product in the United States,” Stolarz said on his appointment.

“I am also looking forward to working alongside a brilliant and talented team of fellow sports betting industry experts. You couldn’t dream up a better product or a better team to come into.”

Joining Prophet as its new Director of Software Engineering, Shi has built large-scale data ingestion pipelines in 1010DATA to provide business insights into near real-time data for industry leaders, including the New York Stock Exchange. 

He most recently served as a Software Engineer at Compass, designing and building an end-to-end transaction management platform that, following its initial release less than a year ago, now powers more than 6% of annual US real estate transactions.

Shi stated: “I am very excited to have the opportunity to join Prophet to work with the product and engineering teams and to build the most reliable and trustable platforms to power the next revolution in US sports betting. I am looking forward to being a part of Prophet’s challenging and exciting journeys ahead.”

As Director of Social Media & Content, Halpern joins Prophet from Action Network, where he managed and oversaw their social media channels.

He has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards for his work as a producer and researcher for NBC’s Football Night in America for the past five seasons, and he has previously worked with athletes and media personalities on their content.

Halpern commented: “I am thrilled to join Prophet Exchange. This is an incredible opportunity to help scale an important and innovative product that will be the first of its kind in the US. 

“I firmly believe that Prophet Exchange will solve a plethora of problems that everyday sports bettors currently face. I am looking forward to the exciting, yet challenging times ahead as we build a best-in-class sports betting exchange.”