Legal and Compliance Leadership Moves Accelerate in iGaming and Prediction Markets

Legal and compliance work drove multiple executive changes across gaming, crypto, and prediction markets. Ifrah Law expanded its roster with targeted hires and a new managing partner. Other organizations adjusted senior roles to address governance, regulatory coordination, and operational demands.

Ifrah Law Names Michelle Cohen Managing Partner and Recruits Six Professionals

Ifrah Law recruited six professionals in iGaming regulation, litigation, compliance, and operations. The Washington, D.C. firm appointed Michelle Cohen as managing partner and promoted Sara Dalsheim to counsel. The firm reported especially strong demand for defense against class actions and mass arbitrations.

New hires include Sondra Grigsby, member, a trial lawyer with more than 16 years of experience from Kasowitz LLP; Andrew Snell, compliance counsel, previously with a Malta-based online casino group; Jerin Horton, chief operating officer, with more than eight years of law firm management experience; Halina Bereday, associate, a former federal law clerk from Norton Rose Fulbright; Nicholas Velez, associate, from Lowenstein Sandler and six years in the Marine Corps Reserve; and Jessica Hawkins, paralegal, from Sodexo.

Ifrah Law Founding Member Jeff Ifrah said, “This is a highly regulated and closely watched industry that’s seeing an increase in high-stakes legal challenges. Michelle has been central to building our iGaming practice, and is the right leader to guide the firm through its next stage of growth.” Cohen noted that the new professionals bring experience from the courtroom, government, private practice, and inside the gaming industry.

Executive Transitions at Polymarket, Crypto.com, and the National Council on Problem Gambling

Polymarket fired Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber after an internal probe, the New York Post reported, citing unnamed sources. Modabber became CMO in January 2024 as the company’s 11th employee. The action followed controversies, including a Wall Street Journal report on allegedly staged videos that triggered an ongoing Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation. No wrongdoing has been established, the move lacks on-the-record confirmation, and a separation agreement is reportedly being finalized.

Crypto.com appointed Mohammed Mortajine chief compliance officer. Mortajine previously held compliance leadership roles at Western Union, ACI Worldwide, and Paysafe, overseeing programs across more than 200 countries and territories. He succeeds Antonio Alvarez, who joined Binance. The hire occurs as the House Oversight Committee seeks records on prediction market safeguards, including identity checks and geographic restrictions.

The National Council on Problem Gambling named Charles H. Jeffers II interim executive director, effective immediately. He replaces Heather Maurer, who resigned after less than a year following criticism of Kalshi’s $2m, two-year investment. Regulators in Michigan and Ohio, along with nonprofits in Nevada and Washington, left the organization over the deal. Vetted Solutions will lead the permanent search beginning in January 2027.

According to reporting by SBC Americas, these changes reflect sustained pressure on firms to secure specialized talent capable of managing regulatory exposure and internal controls. The emphasis on cross-sector compliance experience at scale positions organizations to handle overlapping requirements across payment services, derivatives, and prediction markets.