The ad, the guardrails, and the pushback
Novig's "Just Sports" campaign features Sydney Sweeney driving home the platform's scope: "No betting on wars or deaths, and no politics." The spot, unveiled Sept. 9, leans provocative to underline that Novig sticks to sports event contracts. Sweeney was motivated by those guardrails to seek an equity position in the company, according to co-founder Jacob Fortinsky. Novig did not respond when asked about the size of her stake.
Some female athletes criticized the commercial, saying it set back perceptions of women in sports; Fortinsky responded that the goal was to clarify what Novig offers rather than to represent female athletes, and he emphasized that he respects the criticism and that he and the team are fans of women's sports. "Ultimately, I think we have nothing to apologize for and are very proud of the work that we did," he said. "We honestly were very happy with … how positive the overall reception of the campaign was."
What moved and by how much
Fortinsky shared with CNBC that comparing the 20 days before the campaign to the 20 days after, trading volume rose by nearly 94% while first-time depositors increased by more than 218%. App downloads also grew by more than 187%.
He said he did not anticipate the ad, paired with the league's season kickoff in the NFL, would bring in that level of activity and new users. For September, active users were up 96% from the prior month and 260% versus the same month a year earlier.
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The business stance: regulated, litigious, and 21-plus
Shortly after launching in early August as a federally regulated market, Novig sued multiple states, asserting that states cannot regulate its sports event contracts. The company also limits access to users 21 and older, even if that narrows its potential revenue. By contrast, Kalshi and Polymarket U.S. allow users who are over 18.
These choices reflect how the team wants to operate, Fortinsky said. "We have to be willing to take outsized risk relative to the size of the company, doing that in a responsible way, of course," he said. "I think we will continue to embody that aggressive risk-taking culture."
The money angle
According to The Wall Street Journal, Novig is seeking new capital at a $2 billion valuation. In February, the company closed a $75 million Series B that valued it at $500 million, per Forbes. The company declined to say how much capital it plans to raise in the new round or which investors are participating.
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