After months of rumors regarding who was going to potentially acquire DFS powerhouse PrizePicks, the suitor is finally official.
Deal worth a minimum of $1.6B
European lottery firm Allwyn announced Monday that it is acquiring a majority stake of 62.3% in the company. The deal includes an initial cash payment of $1.6 billion but also includes potential for additional cash compensation down the road should PrizePicks hit certain performance benchmarks.
“From day one, we set out to create a more accessible style of fantasy sports that could appeal to casual players. As the industry evolved, PrizePicks was the first to go all-in on the simplest prediction model and take it to scale, reshaping how fans engage with fantasy sports. Now, with Allwyn’s backing, we’ll accelerate our vision and bring our games to even more players on a much bigger stage,” said PrizePicks founder Adam Wexler.
Ybarra will remain as PrizePicks CEO
While Allwyn is acquiring a large chunk of the company, the PrizePicks brand will continue to operate as a standalone brand and CEO Mike Ybarra will continue to lead the organization.
“Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for PrizePicks and our growing community of players. There has never been a more electrifying time to shape the future of fan-first entertainment,” Ybarra noted. “By joining forces with Allwyn, a like-minded and disruptive company that shares our passion for bold product innovation, we will accelerate our mission to make our games more interactive, engaging and rewarding for fans everywhere.”
Allwyn is best known for its European operations, however it currently works with the Illinois Lottery as a supplier. That deal stemmed from a 2023 acquisition of Camelot Lottery Solutions. The company also holds an ownership stake in Kaizen Gaming, which operates the Betano brand in Ontario.
Beyond lottery, Allwyn also has ownership stakes in brick and mortar casinos in Austria. One of its most notable partnerships is that it currently holds the sole license to operate The National Lottery in the United Kingdom.
Allwyn increasingly invested in US digital space
In the recent months, Allwyn has announced several strategic moves that indicate a desire to have a larger presence in North America that expands into other digital gaming verticals.
Longtime Allwyn North America CEO Wayne Pickup left the organization in July. A month later, Allwyn appointed of Kresimir Spajic as the CEO of the newly created Allwyn Digital business segment. Spajic most recently served as the CEO of Betfred US, which exited the country fully in July.
“This is a significant European investment, and Allwyn’s biggest in the United States to date. PrizePicks is an entrepreneurial company that is empowering a new generation of fans who want to engage with their favorite sports and athletes, not just spectate. PrizePicks has created an intuitive platform that simplifies the process of making skilled predictions. I look forward to partnering with Mike and the PrizePicks team to support the growth of the business,” noted Allwyn CEO Robert Chvatal.
California DFS market still in a holding pattern
The huge price tag for Allwyn’s stake, which implies a $2.5 billion total valuation for PrizePicks comes at a time where one of the company’s biggest markets remains in purgatory.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office issued an opinion in July that virtually all forms of paid fantasy sports qualify as illegal sports betting in the state. Since the announcement, there has been no enforcement action and no operators have announced plans to exit the state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was vocal about his disagreement with the opinion at the time of its release and encouraged some sort of compromise.
However, in July, Bonta indicated he plans to move forward with enforcement on the issue.
