Novig posts $125 million in first-week sports prediction market volume

Novig posts $125 million in first-week sports prediction market volume

Tue, August 18, 2026 at 3:28 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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Novig tallied more than $125 million in notional trading volume across its debut week, the sports prediction market company told CNBC. That number beat what Kalshi, Polymarket U.S., Underdog, and DraftKings' exchange DKeX each recorded in their respective debut weeks, based on figures Novig compiled.

Novig launched on Aug. 4. People with knowledge of the platform's activity told CNBC that parlay bets made up roughly one-third of volume, with baseball drawing more activity than any other sport. Co-founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky said the platform's highest-volume single day reached $26.3 million.

The platform has set its sights on sports markets as the NBA and Premier League seasons approach. "Our focus is on markets tied directly to sports and competition," Fortinsky said.

Novig is also contending with legal challenges from several states that argue prediction market platforms are operating as illegal gambling sites. The platform has sued New York, Massachusetts, Washington, New Mexico, and Wisconsin, contending that state gambling laws cannot be applied to its sports event contracts. A Southern District of New York judge recently rejected Novig's bid for a temporary restraining order, a ruling that left New York free to continue applying its gambling laws against the company.

Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach posted on X on Aug. 9 that the outlook for Novig in its litigation against Massachusetts, New York, and Washington "are dim," CNBC reported, pointing to a string of recent court decisions that went in the states' favor. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission awarded Novig designated contract markets approval in June.

Novig restricts access to users 21 and older. Fortinsky had previously told CNBC: "We've listened to the public… the 18- to 20-year-old demographic in some ways is uniquely susceptible to misbehavior in certain ways, and so we currently are 21-plus in our current product offering. We encourage the rest of the industry to follow suit."

Novig's volume milestone comes as rivals continue to expand their own product lines. Kalshi, which crossed $1 billion in trading volume within a week of launching crypto perpetual futures contracts, said it accounts for more than 90% of prediction market activity in the U.S. Going back to May, Kalshi, Polymarket, and Polymarket U.S. have consistently outpaced every other platform in monthly notional volume, CNBC reported, drawing on figures posted to Dune.