How can an emerging prediction market company gain traction against established competitors like Kalshi and Polymarket? Bringing in Hollywood’s Sidney Sweeney.
The 29-year-old actress starred in Novig’s racy Just Sports ad campaign, highlighting the prediction platform’s focus on sports event contracts. Novig launched as a federally regulated prediction market in early August and released a provocative ad on September 9th.
“I don’t bet on war, death or politics,” Sweeney said in a campaign video, explaining how Novig avoids offering event deals related to those themes. The feature prompted the actress to approach Novig about taking a stake in the company, said Jacob Fortinsky, the company’s co-founder. The company did not respond to questions about Star’s investment amount.
In the 20 days before and after the campaign launch, Novig’s trading volume soared nearly 94% and first-time depositors soared more than 218%, Fortinsky shared exclusively with CNBC.
Additionally, the number of active users in September increased by 96% month-over-month and 260% year-over-year, and app downloads increased by over 187%. Fortinsky said he did not expect the ad to attract so many first-time users as the NFL season officially begins.
Backlash against ‘Just Sports’ ad
There was a catch to these numbers. Sweeney’s platform’s messaging drew backlash from some female athletes, who said the ad undermined the advancement of women’s recognition in sports.
Fortinsky said the purpose of the ad is not to represent female athletes, but to explore what Novig has to offer. She added that she respects the prevailing opinion regarding the ad and emphasized that she and the Novig team are fans of women’s sports.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think we have anything to apologize for and we’re very proud of the work we’ve done,” Fortynski said. “We’re honestly very pleased that the overall reception of the campaign has been very positive.”
The Sidney Sweeney ad isn’t the first time the platform has made headlines. Shortly after Novig’s launch, the company filed suit against several states, claiming that states could not regulate the platform’s sports event contracts. Additionally, Novig only allows users 21 years of age and older on its platform, despite the potential loss of revenue by limiting its user base. Kalshi and Polymarket US permit users to be at least 18 years of age.
Fortinsky said these business decisions are tied to the company’s culture of leapfrogging in a fast-paced industry.
“We have to be prepared to take a lot of risk relative to the size of the company, and of course we have to do it in a responsible way,” he said. “I think we will continue to embody a culture of proactive risk-taking.”
The company is raising funding at a valuation of $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. In February, Novig raised $75 million in Series B funding, valuing the company at $500 million, Forbes reported. Novig has not commented on how much capital it will raise in this new round, nor has it disclosed which investors are participating.
Disclosure: CNBC and Kalsi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and minority ownership.
