Novig has brought on actress Sydney Sweeney as an equity investor, as well as launched a new advertisement campaign to promote the operator’s “just sports” approach to prediction markets, rather than focus on contracts tied to war, death or politics.
“Sydney first came to us as an investor with an interest in prediction markets. She’s now also a strategic partner who helped shape the creative and served as the face of our first major brand campaign ahead of football season,” Novig Co-Founder & CEO Jacob Fortinsky said.
“The idea is simple. There are other places to trade on politics, elections and everything else – controversial markets that make headlines but are ultimately just conduits to trade on what people really care about: sports. At Novig, we are focused on one thing. Just sports.”
As part of the social promotion, Sweeney states there is “no betting on wars, or deaths and no politics” for Novig users, “just you, your takes and sports.”
Throughout the video, Sweeney is strategically clothed with nothing but various sports equipment, covering markets tied to basketball, football, tennis, soccer, baseball, golf and hockey among others.
Fortinsky also confirmed that Sweeney served as a creative director for the new campaign, describing the actress as a “huge part of not only the creative process, but also the messaging.”
Sweeney also appears in a second, shorter advertisement for Novig, stating it “takes balls” to trade on sports but also maintain self-control when betting, prior to asking viewers if they “need a pair?” before the video ends.
The collaboration follows Novig’s inaugural partnership with the New York Mets MLB franchise in July, representing the first-ever agreement formed between a Major League Baseball club and prediction market operator.
Fellow prediction market operators have also used celebrity figures to promote their respective services, including Kalshi’s agreements with Lionel Messi and Timothée Chalamet and Polymarket’s recent collaboration with LeBron James.
Prediction market platform Novig filed a federal lawsuit on August 20, seeking to prevent Wisconsin regulators from applying the state’s gambling laws to its event contract trading business
