Novig Says Trading Jumped 94% After Sydney Sweeney’s Viral Ad

The Figures Overlap With the NFL Kickoff

Novig co-founder Jacob Fortinsky shared the growth figures with CNBC, saying trading volume rose nearly 94% and first-time depositors more than 218% in the 20 days before and after the “Just Sports” campaign launched on Sept. 9. Active users climbed 96% month-over-month and 260% year-over-year in September, and app downloads rose more than 187%.

The numbers are Novig’s own, and the campaign landed alongside the start of the NFL season. Fortinsky said he had not expected the ad and the football kickoff together to bring in this much volume and this many first-time users. Before launching as a federally regulated prediction market on Aug. 4, Novig ran a sweepstakes product using virtual currencies, so the year-over-year comparison spans that switch.

In the viral ad, Sweeney appears nude behind footballs, basketballs, and hockey gear, and tells viewers the platform offers “no betting on wars or deaths, and no politics.” She joined Novig as an equity holder after approaching the company, according to Fortinsky, though Novig has not disclosed the size of her stake. The campaign drew criticism from some female athletes, who said it set back how women in sports are perceived.

“Ultimately, I think we have nothing to apologize for and are very proud of the work that we did,” Fortinsky said, adding that he respected the opinions raised and that the team is a fan of women’s sports.

Third-party data points the same way, though Novig remains a small player. According to Aldrin Research data, the company’s sports volume grew 136% between the 30 days to Aug. 30 and the 30 days to Sept. 29, lifting its share of a market that reached $68.2 billion in sports and combo volume from 1.5% to 2%. Kalshi’s share was 73.4%.

Novig only admits users aged 21 and over, while Kalshi and Polymarket U.S. allow 18-year-olds, and it has sued several states over their authority to regulate its sports contracts. Fortinsky tied those choices to the company’s culture, saying, “We have to be willing to take outsized risk relative to the size of the company, doing that in a responsible way, of course.”

Novig has raised new funding at a $2 billion valuation, The Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter; Front Office Sports reported the same day that the round was still in progress, with Novig confirming that it is fundraising.

The reported valuation is four times the $500 million Novig reached when it closed a $75 million Series B in February, led by Pantera Capital. Novig did not say how much it is raising or which investors are involved.

More details have come forth about Sydney Sweeney’s viral ad for sports prediction market Novig, which drew an adult content…