Sports Prediction App Novig Secures $18M For Major Expansion

A fast-growing sports prediction market business is poised to make huge innovation and product advances following a significant investment.


- Sweepstakes sports forecast platform selected up $18 million in funding.
- Novig strategies to use the money to upgrade current items, include more, and increase payment platforms.
- The app's users play standard sportsbook markets versus each other, not your home.


Novig, a sweepstakes app that introduced in September 2024, revealed on Monday that venture capital firm Forerunner led an $18 million Series A funding round. Y Combinator, NFX, Perceptive Ventures, and Gaingels likewise invested in the prediction market platform that uses commission-free, peer-to-peer sports trading.


"The assistance from a few of the world's leading tech investors, who believe in our objective to democratize sports betting for excellent, is an effective recommendation - not simply of what we've constructed, however of the future we're developing," Novig CEO and co-founder Jacob Fortinsky said. "This financing will allow us to scale our mission throughout more sports, more formats, and ultimately, to more users."


With the brand-new financing, Novig plans to broaden into new sports markets and enhance its existing ones, while developing brand-new functions like leaderboards, group contests, and head-to-head trading. Novig stated it desires to include debit and charge card to the app, launch a full web platform, and grow its engineering and product groups with the influx of cash.


Attractive growth


Novig's development is one of the main attractions for financiers. The business has actually accomplished a 50x boost in regular monthly trading volume because last fall and has gone beyond 2 billion annualized volume in Novig Cash.
The forecast market company said that more than 90% of its trades are peer-to-peer, which it states helps client retention.


"Novig sits at the center of a number of key nonreligious patterns in gaming and home entertainment, specifically that consumers significantly are spending their time, energy, and attention with financial items," Fawzi Itani, Principal at Forerunner, said. "The Novig team brings the most advanced and nuanced perspective to sports prediction markets. They not just deeply understand their target customer, but are constructing a system that is more fair, community-oriented, satisfying, and well, fun."


Peer-to-peer markets


Novig's platform, like many sweepstakes gaming operators, uses users free coins at sign-up. Customers can likewise buy Novig Cash, which can be redeemed for cash and rewards.


The sports prediction app, established by Fortinsky and Kelechi Ukah, operates in 41 U.S. states and offers numerous traditional-sportsbook markets on MLB, NFL, WNBA, tennis, PGA Tour, UFC, and more. Users can wager the chances noted or set their own, all while playing against each other, not your house.


"What we're developing isn't simply sports predictions - it's a real peer-to-peer market," Fortinsky stated. "We believe users be worthy of a system that rewards ability, reflects true supply and demand, and provides every fan a fair shot. We've rapidly end up being the No. 1 sports forecast market in the U.S., and our organic development talks to the strength of our item and the passion of our neighborhood."


Scrutinized gaming


Novig's expansion comes at a time when both sweepstakes operators and forecast platforms have faced legal concerns in the U.S. Novig runs under the sweepstakes model, which has actually encountered regulative problems, particularly in states with legalized sports wagering and/or iGaming.


Connecticut, Montana, and Nevada have prohibited sweepstakes companies from operating. New York legislators passed a restriction costs previously this year, and California, which does not have any kind of legalized online gaming, had a sweepstakes-ban bill introduced this summer.


Meanwhile, forecast market business like Kalshi are fighting numerous cease-and-desist orders. The platform, which offers sports-related contracts and is controlled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, suffered an obstacle previously this month when a Maryland judge ruled against Kalshi.