Novig is bringing some serious celebrity power to prediction markets. Actress Sydney Sweeney has joined the sports-focused platform as an equity partner and is starring in a new national advertising campaign designed to make one thing very clear: Novig wants to be known for sports.
The campaign launched Wednesday with Sweeney appearing alongside footballs, basketballs, hockey equipment and other sports gear in a deliberately provocative spot. Beyond getting people talking, the message separates Novig from broader prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket by emphasizing what you won't find on the platform: politics, wars or death-related contracts.
Sweeney is More Than the Face of the Campaign
This isn't simply another celebrity endorsement. Sweeney reportedly approached Novig about becoming an investor after researching prediction markets, and that conversation eventually grew into an equity partnership.
Novig CEO and co-founder Jacob Fortinsky said Sweeney also played a major role in developing the campaign's creative direction and messaging. The actress described the concept as cutting through the noise and putting the attention entirely on sports, which fits neatly with how Novig is positioning itself.
The campaign will be difficult to miss. Novig plans to push it across:
- Traditional television and streaming video
- Paid social media
- Out-of-home advertising
- Sweeney's own social channels and massive following
For a relatively young prediction market trying to build national recognition, that last piece could be especially valuable.
Novig Is Making Sports its Entire Identity
Novig launched its nationwide prediction market product on Aug. 4 after receiving federal approval from the CFTC in July. Unlike competitors that have built marketplaces spanning everything from elections to economics and entertainment, Novig is intentionally staying in its sports lane.
That distinction is central to the Sweeney campaign. Fortinsky said sports fans deserve a prediction market specifically designed around them, rather than sports simply becoming one category among dozens.
Novig has already started building that identity beyond advertising. The company became the first prediction market operator to partner with an MLB club when it reached an agreement with the New York Mets in July, with competitors later announcing baseball partnerships of their own.
Early Trading Activity Gives Novig Something to Build On
A huge advertising campaign means considerably more when people are already using the product. Novig's early numbers suggest the platform has found an audience during its first month.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming analyst Brad Allen reported that Novig averaged around $21 million in daily trading shortly after launch, including a $26.3 million single-day peak during its first week. During the week ending Aug. 23, that reportedly increased to an average of $23.3 million per day.
Those numbers still leave Novig well behind the industry's biggest platforms, but that may explain why Sweeney is such an interesting addition. Novig now has an instantly recognizable person introducing the brand to sports fans who may have never heard of it.
Responsibility Becomes Part of the Pitch
Novig is also trying something slightly unexpected for its marketing campaign by talking about responsible participation. A second Sweeney advertisement focuses specifically on self-control, giving the company another way to distinguish itself from competitors.
Fortinsky told The Wall Street Journal that Novig hopes emphasizing responsibility becomes part of its identity. The platform faces regulatory battles in several states, but its marketing strategy clearly leans toward presenting sports prediction markets as a distinct consumer product rather than copying broader exchanges.
The Trade Handle Prediction Markets Take
Celebrity partnerships aren't new in sports, but Sweeney becoming an equity holder makes this considerably more interesting than another famous face collecting a promotional check. Novig is attaching one of the most recognizable actresses in entertainment to a very specific message: prediction markets can be built entirely around sports.
We think that positioning is the bigger story. Kalshi and Polymarket are building enormous marketplaces covering nearly everything people can predict, while Novig is taking the opposite approach and trying to own one category. Sweeney will certainly get people to notice the campaign. What happens next will tell us whether "just sports" can become a meaningful advantage in an increasingly crowded prediction market industry.