Polymarket’s Hire of Fanatics’ Ari Borod the Latest Executive Move from Sports Betting to Prediction Markets

Is Borod’s move from Fanatics to Polymarket part of a trend of key executives leaving the sports betting industry for prediction markets?

Ari Borod has landed at Polymarket, as the exchange announced the hiring of the former Fanatics executive this week. Borod, formerly Chief Business Officer at Fanatics, becomes Polymarket’s new President of Sports Business Development.

The hire comes after the sportsbook sued Borod last month in an effort to keep him from joining the prediction market, claiming he was subject to a non-compete agreement. The parties eventually settled. 

Fanatics was on the other side of a similar case last year. DraftKings cited a non-compete when it sued Michael Hermalyn after he joined its competitor.

Fanatics’ attempt to stop Borod from leaving for Polymarket comes amid the uncovering of documents that reveal the sportsbooks’ alleged plans to purchase an exchange, in addition to Fanatics founder Michael Rubin and CEO Matt King’s possible investment in Kalshi, Front Office Sports reported.

While the details around Borod’s job change are juicy, the move in and of itself raises an intriguing question: Is it part of a trend of key executives leaving the sports betting industry for the potentially greener pastures of prediction markets?

Borod certainly isn’t the first exec to make such a move. Here’s a look at others:

Sara Slane, Kalshi

Sara Slane, the former American Gaming Association Senior VP who was instrumental in the movement to overturn PASPA, joined Kalshi as Head of Corporate Development in April 2025. In between those gigs, she led her own consultancy, Slane Advisory, helping leagues, teams and media companies navigate the sports betting industry. The NHL and Genius Sports were among her clients.

Slane has faced plenty of blowback from her former sports betting brethren as she’s pushed prediction markets’ agenda.  

In a statement to The Nevada Independent in October, Slane said, “The federal government is significantly better equipped to regulate financial markets than 50 separate slot machine regulators, which do not have the capacity, expertise, or legal jurisdiction to regulate futures.”

Comments such as this are not sitting right with many in the state-regulated industry, who perceive them as a 180-degree shift from her advocacy of legalization. 

Chris Fargis, Crypto.com 

An industry veteran with stints at multiple sportsbooks, Fargis was hired in August 2025 to lead Crypto.com’s prediction markets foray.

“This category is red hot, and there are very exciting things happening at the company,” Fargis posted on LinkedIn. “I’m hiring for Product roles, and the company is generally hiring in this space as well.” 

Hard Rock Digital was Fargis’ most recent gig before joining Crypto.com, and roles Fanatics and DraftKings are also on his resume. He also worked with tech company Boom Entertainment and as options trader, in line with the type of talent he’s looking to join him.

Alex Wolf & Chris Staszak, Novig 

Novig hired a couple of lawyers away from Underdog Sports back in June 2025.

Alex Wolf was named Chief Legal Officer and Chris Staszak as Senior Legal Counsel of the exchange, valued at a reported $500 million after a capital raise of $75 million announced this week.

The attorneys’ gambling industry resumes mirror one another, as they both worked at FanDuel before joining Underdog. 

In September, just a few months after Wolf and Staszak left the company, Underdog announced its own pivot into prediction markets.

Related: Are prediction market deals too valuable to pro leagues to pass up?

Traders on the Move

While we list above high-level execs who have transitioned away from the regulated sports betting industry, trading rooms at prediction markets are filling up with sports betting talent.

Those hires are coming from a variety of places – yes, Wall Street, but also sportsbooks and sharp customers on the other side of the counter.

Polymarket, Bloomberg reported in December, had been interviewing traders, including sports bettors, about joining their market making team.

The sports bettors they’re interested in, of course, are supremely smart, finding edges through advanced quantitative analysis. Ninety-nine percent of bettors need not apply.

To help put in perspective who these companies are looking for, the Financial Times reported last month that Susquehanna – the firm that serves as the chief market market on Kalshi – is looking for traders who can “detect incorrect fair values” and identify “unusual behaviours” and “inefficiencies” on prediction markets, plus candidates for its dedicated sports trading desk. Crypto hedge fund Tyr Capital wanted a prediction market traders “already running sophisticated strategies”.

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