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Novig has secured $75 million in a Series B round, giving the New York-based company an estimated valuation of $500 million. The funding comes less than a month after Novig filed for registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), signaling its intent to operate as a federally regulated prediction market.
The fresh capital positions Novig to accelerate its shift away from sweepstakes-style gaming toward a regulated event contracts model. This transition occurs as seven US states consider bans or tighter restrictions on dual-currency sweepstakes platforms. Meanwhile, prediction markets are surging in popularity even as state regulators remain embroiled in legal disputes with various operators.
Series B investment and resource allocation
Pantera Capital led the Series B round, with additional backing from Multicoin Capital, Makers Fund, and Edge Equity. Existing investors Forerunner Ventures and Perceptive Ventures also participated, bringing Novig’s total funding to more than $105 million.
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky said the company chose to partner with crypto-focused venture firms to support its long-term goal: building a sports prediction platform that is both liquid and efficient. The new capital will be directed toward marketing, platform development, and expanding the workforce to approximately 65 employees.
Fortinsky noted that Novig is using prediction market technology to resolve inefficiencies in existing markets rather than creating new speculative products. “Our focus is on fixing problems in sports trading by offering a more user-friendly model,” he said in a news report by SBC Americas.
Regulatory shift and sweepstakes gaming exit
Founded in 2021, Novig originally launched as a sports betting exchange in New Jersey and Colorado. However, as the regulatory landscape shifted, the company pivoted to a sweepstakes gaming model utilizing a dual-currency system. This allowed Novig to reach 42 states and Washington, D.C., with more than 50% of platform activity being peer-to-peer.
That model has since come under fire. Dual-currency structures, which often bypass conventional gambling rules, have drawn intense criticism from lawmakers. After New Jersey approved a ban on such games, Novig withdrew from the state.
As state scrutiny intensified nationwide, the company began reassessing the sustainability of the sweepstakes model, leading to its current pursuit of federal oversight.
Navigating the prediction market landscape
Novig has now applied to register as a designated contract market (DCM) with the CFTC. If approved, the license would allow the company to offer federally regulated event contracts to users across the US. This status would place Novig under federal oversight rather than varying state gaming rules—a structure already utilized by competitors such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
The company enters a rapidly growing sector where multi-billion-dollar valuations have significantly raised the barrier to entry. Simultaneously, the boundary between “sports trading” and “gambling” remains a point of contention. Attorney Michael Selig has argued publicly that event contracts fall under federal oversight rather than state gaming rules.
The road to federal sports trading
Novig’s next phase hinges entirely on the CFTC’s pending decision. If cleared, the company aims to operate sports trading under a financial market framework. The outcome will likely shape how Novig competes as federal rules and oversight around prediction markets continue to evolve in 2026.
