Fanatics names director of engineering as sports betting launch gears up
Jigish Mehta joins firm from Wish to head up engineering division after BetFanatics trademark granted in US
Fanatics has taken another step ahead of the firm’s long-awaited launch into the world of sports betting and igaming with the appointment of Jigish Mehta as its director of engineering.
Mehta joins the apparel giant’s Betting and Gaming division from e-commerce outfit Wish where he served as a senior engineering manager from August 2020.
Prior to Wish, Mehta spent more than four years with Rakuten Rewards in San Francisco across a series of senior roles.
He has also had stints at eBay, OpenTable and PayPal in a lengthy engineering and tech career.
In his new role at Fanatics, Mehta will be responsible for managing the company’s engineering tools and frameworks team as it looks to build out a product to take on the nascent US market.
Mehta said: “After an incredible two years of thrilling and enriching experience at Wish, I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as director of engineering at Fanatics Betting and Gaming.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Fanatics family for this new chapter and looking forward to collaboration with some of the great minds in the technology industry,” he added.
Last month, Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin sold his 10% stake in Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment (HBSE) under requirements regarding conflict of interests for the launch of the Betting and Gaming division.
In May, Fanatics, which is worth an estimated $27bn, made moves to trademark the BetFanatics brand with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Reports in the US in June suggested Fanatics was looking to jumpstart its online gambling ambitions buy acquiring leading German bookmaker Tipico.