Polymarket has appointed former Fanatics executive Ari Borod as its new President of Sports Business Development, even in spite of legal pushback from the sports betting operator which threatened to bring "the entire weight of Fanatics" upon Borod if he joined Polymarket.
Fanatics brings Borod to court over Polymarket appointment
Fanatics originally sued Borod in Florida state court on January 12 for allegedly breaching a one-year non-compete clause included within his contract with Fanatics. The legal filing was eventually uncovered by Front Office Sports, which shared notable findings from within the lawsuit.
“Borod’s agreement, however, simply has no such provision,” the filing said.
“Fanatics nonetheless threatened that, if Borod did not abandon his plans to join Polymarket, ‘the entire weight of Fanatics would be brought against him.’”
Borod claimed to the Florida court that he "transparently" informed Fanatics of his eventual departure in December 2025, but the operator appeared to be “intent on retribution” by filing the non-compete lawsuit.
How did Borod and Fanatics settle to allow Polymarket appointment?
Despite the legal pushback shown on Fanatics’ part, the operator and Borod informed the court on February 2 that the two parties had reached a settlement over the non-compete dispute.
The Florida state court then ruled it would agree to pause legal proceedings while Fanatics and Borod “complete the documentation of their settlement.”
While the eventual terms of the settlement have not been released at the time of writing, Borod officially confirmed his new role with Polymarket on social media.
“Thrilled to share that I’ve officially joined Polymarket as President of Sports Business Development,” Borod said.
“As Polymarket continues to expand its global footprint, the mandate is clear: build partnerships that help bring prediction markets to the center of how fans experience the game. Scaling this category the right way is just as important as scaling it quickly.”
Did top Fanatics executives make personal investments into Kalshi?
Within Borod’s legal filing, he also revealed Fanatics Founder & CEO Michael Rubin, as well as the operator’s Betting & Gaming CEO Matt King, had both “invested personally into Kalshi” prior to launching its standalone Fanatics Markets platform in December.
“Plaintiffs make sweeping, non-specific and false allegations that Borod led Fanatics’ efforts to ‘take steps to engage in the acquisition and ownership of an exchange and clearinghouse,’” the filing said.
Borod also touched on the alleged investment, having said, “While I knew that other members of Fanatics’ leadership team were engaged in discussions to acquire a DCM exchange, and had participated in high-level calls on the subject, I was genuinely unaware, prior to this lawsuit, that (Fanatics Marketplace) had agreed to terms with a target exchange.”
Representatives from Polymarket, Kalshi and Fanatics declined to comment on the case when provided further questioning, but it appears the settlement between Fanatics and Borod cleared the way for him to join Polymarket as President of Sports Business Development.
S Gaming continued its expansion across the regulated US iGaming market through a new partnership with Fanatics Casino on February 12, which launched S Gaming’s Triple 7 Jackpot slot in four regulated states
