DFS giant PrizePicks opens relocated and expanded headquarters in Atlanta

Daily fantasy sports company PrizePicks held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Thursday for its expanded and relocated headquarters in Atlanta. The ceremony featured Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who hailed the expansion as an economic development victory.

The new HQ is located within the Star Metals high-rise in West Midtown, one of Atlanta's most expensive office buildings. The space is set to mix Atlanta culture with the look of a Las Vegas sportsbook, including high-top bars and TV screens aplenty.

The DFS giant expects to occupy its new 33,000-square-foot corporate home in February, where it committed to growing its workforce by 1,000 employees over the next seven years.

“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.

PrizePicks has become one of the major operators in the DFS, responsible for creating one of the most downloaded free sports apps. The platform allows users to wager electronically on the performances of individual players in team sports. 

Georgia still debating sports betting legalization

While sports betting remains illegal in Georgia, daily fantasy sites like PrizePicks argue they offer games of skill — not chance — and are thus 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 told the Journal-Constitution. Ybarra was selected as PrizePicks CEO in August, succeeding founder Adam Wexler, who is now the company’s executive chairman.

Gov. Kemp celebrated the PrizePicks HQ opening. He said the milestone doubles down on two fast-growing Georgia industries: technology and sports. He added that expansions accounted for 9,800 new jobs in Georgia during the most recent fiscal year.

While the governor described the HQ opening as "a testament to these companies and these innovators’ work,” gaming remains a controversial topic in Georgia, where efforts to legalize sports betting at the Capitol have consistently met the opposition of religious conservatives.

Backers of legal sports gambling, who have introduced legalization bills over the last 10 years or more, are expected to do so again when the legislature reconvenes in January. By legalizing the activity, the state could tax the proceeds and use them to expand college scholarships and other popular programs, they say.

Though Kemp was the guest of honor at the PrizePicks ribbon cutting, he has neither pushed nor blocked efforts to legalize sports gambling. "My whole thing is that if we’re going to do something like that, that it does not cannibalize the lottery and the HOPE scholarship," Kemp said Thursday, as per 11Alive.