Team of Business and Gaming Veterans Strengthens PrizePicks Efforts to Build the Fantasy Sports Industry’s Strongest Compliance Programs
ATLANTA, Jan. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — PrizePicks, the largest privately-held skill-based fantasy sports operator in North America, today announced major strategic hires to lead the company’s legal, compliance and government affairs-related initiatives, including the addition of the company’s first Chief Legal Officer to the executive management team.
- Jason Barclay, formerly legal counsel to two U.S. governors, joins PrizePicks as its first Chief Legal Officer and Head of Public Policy. A litigation partner at one of the nation’s leading law firms and most recently the Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President at Athletico Physical Therapy, Barclay previously served as legal counsel to the Governors of Indiana and Illinois. As a regulator, he was the first Chairman of the Indiana Athletic Commission and served on the Indiana and Illinois Racing Boards and the Illinois State Board of Education.
- William Guidera, the former Director of U.S. Federal & State Public Affairs at Netflix and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at 21st Century Fox, joins the organization as its new Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. At Netflix, Guidera formed and led a coalition that defeated harmful state streaming tax & regulatory legislation and united an industry alliance to support state privacy legislation. At 21st Century Fox, Guidera led an industry coalition that engaged Attorneys General on intellectual property rights and search engines.
- Adam Packer, currently the General Counsel of Lottery-operator IGT Indiana, LLC and former General Counsel to the Indiana Gaming Commission, will join the organization as the Senior Vice President of Legal & Compliance. Packer built two of the leading responsible gaming programs, which have become national models, for both the Indiana Lottery and Gaming Commissions.
- John Pauley, formerly the Government Affair Manager at Sportradar, joins as PrizePicks’ Vice President of Government Affairs. During his tenure at Sportradar, he was responsible for building and implementing Sportradar’s government affairs strategy across more than 30 North American jurisdictions.
“We are extremely fortunate to have this seasoned group of business professionals lead our organization as we strive to become the most respected and consumer-friendly company in skills-based fantasy sports,” PrizePicks Co-Founder and CEO Adam Wexler said. “This group of all-stars have spent a majority of their careers fighting for the consumer – a characteristic that is paramount to our success as a brand focused on always putting our members first.”
Barclay will serve on the Company’s Executive Leadership Team and will oversee all of PrizePicks’ Government Affairs, Legal & Compliance, and People-related operations. Aside from those mentioned above, the team includes Shane Saum, who has deep experience at all levels of Texas state government, and Ron Heart, an experienced state and local government relations manager.
“Adam gave me two missions: build the strongest compliance and responsible player programs in the industry and work hand-in-hand with regulators to protect consumers ability to enjoy skill-based fantasy sports,” Barclay said. “As someone who has played these games since I was a kid, I know the most important step to being successful in fantasy sports is building the strongest lineup. With the team we announced today, we are well-positioned to win on behalf of consumers.”
About PrizePicks
PrizePicks is the fastest-growing sports company in North America according to the 2022 Inc. 5000 rankings and the largest independent skill-based fantasy sports operator in North America. The company was recognized as the Fantasy Sports Business of the Year Award by the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association and as the Fantasy/DFS Operator of the Year by EGR North America. PrizePicks is the most fun, fast and simple version of daily fantasy sports, covering a wide variety of sports leagues from the NFL and NBA to esports titles League of Legends & Counter-Strike. Founded and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, the PrizePicks workforce has grown to over 200 in the past year, with the company recently being recognized as a Top Workplace by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
SOURCE PrizePicks
