
4.2 / 5
ATS Score

4.2 / 5
ATS Score

Updated August 20, 2026
Novig is one of the more interesting new sports prediction markets in the U.S. Its sports-first focus, fee-free pregame trading and CFTC-regulated exchange are strong selling points. The platform is still relatively new, though, and liquidity and live-trading fees are worth keeping in mind.
Choose a Sports Market
Pick an event, prop, spread, total or other available sports market.
Choose Your Position
Select the outcome you think will happen and review the current contract price.
Place Your Trade
Buy available contracts or place your own order at the price you want.
Cash Out or Wait for Settlement
Exit eligible positions early or hold until the market settles at $1 or $0.
Eligible new Novig users can currently receive $25 in Trade Credits after making a qualifying deposit of at least $10.
To qualify, you must be a new Novig member, complete the account and identity-verification process, and make the required deposit. The offer is available to users aged 21+ in eligible Novig states.
The $25 reward is issued as Trade Credits rather than withdrawable cash. These credits are designed to be used on eligible Novig markets and are subject to the platform's promotional terms.
The offer gives new users some extra trading funds to explore Novig's sports prediction markets, but it is important to review the current Trade Credit restrictions before placing a trade.
The platform changed significantly in August 2026. Novig previously operated using Novig Cash and Novig Coins under a sweepstakes-style model, but those currencies have now been retired. The current product uses real money and operates through Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which was designated as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on June 16, 2026. Novig launched the new federally regulated version of its platform on August 4.
For sports-focused users, the biggest attraction is simple: Novig is built almost entirely around sports. It offers familiar markets such as moneylines, spreads, totals, player props, futures and live trading, but uses an exchange model rather than a conventional sportsbook structure.
Best for: Sports-focused prediction-market users
Not ideal for: Users primarily interested in politics, economics or non-sports events
Main strength: Sports specialization and fee-free standard pregame straight trading
Main weakness: Smaller and less established than the biggest prediction-market platforms
For a wider look at the industry, see our guide to the best prediction markets in 2026. Best Prediction Markets in 2026
For this review, we checked Novig's current trading rules, fee schedule, eligibility requirements, market selection, funding information, support documentation and legal structure.
We also reviewed the CFTC's official record confirming Ludlow Exchange's DCM designation and Novig's August 2026 transition from its previous sweepstakes-style product to its federally regulated exchange.
Because Novig changed significantly in 2026, older Novig articles, app-store descriptions and help pages can refer to Novig Cash, Novig Coins or the previous sweepstakes model. Those should not be treated as descriptions of the current product.
Novig is a peer-to-peer sports prediction market.
Instead of placing a fixed-odds wager against a sportsbook, users buy and sell contracts tied to sporting outcomes. Prices are determined through market activity between participants rather than simply being posted by a bookmaker.
A contract priced at $0.60, for example, roughly represents a 60% market-implied probability before fees, spread and liquidity are considered. If the contract settles in your favor, it pays $1. If it settles against you, it is worth $0.
That structure is similar to other prediction markets, although Novig's emphasis on sports makes it look and feel much closer to a sports-betting product.
New to the concept? Our guide to how prediction markets work explains contract pricing, trading and settlement in more detail.
This is the biggest change users need to understand.
Novig previously used a dual-currency system built around Novig Cash and Novig Coins. Both currencies have now been retired and Novig says its platform operates through a single real-money account.
On June 16, 2026, the CFTC officially designated Ludlow Exchange, LLC as a Designated Contract Market.
Novig then launched the new version of the exchange on August 4, completing its transition into a federally regulated sports prediction market.
That distinction matters. The current Novig product should no longer be described as a sweepstakes sportsbook or social sports-betting platform.
Novig uses a marketplace structure where participants can either take an available price or place an order into the market.
The basic concept is:
Your execution price matters.
A prediction can ultimately be correct but still represent poor value if you enter at an expensive price. Likewise, thin liquidity can make it difficult to trade the size you want at the displayed price.
That is one of the biggest differences between prediction markets and standard sportsbooks. We explain the distinction in more detail in our prediction markets vs. sports betting guide. Prediction Markets vs Sports Betting
Novig's current fee structure is one of the platform's strongest features.
Currently:
Trade Type | Maker Fee | Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|
Pregame straight trade | $0 | $0 |
Live straight trade | $0 | Variable |
Parlays through app/web | N/A | Variable |
Novig's current live straight-trade taker fee uses the formula:
0.03 × Price × (1 − Price) × Number of Contracts
The fee is highest around 50-cent contracts and declines as prices move toward either extreme.
Parlays use a higher coefficient of 0.10, with the fee incorporated into the quoted parlay price.
Makers currently pay no trading fee.
For 100 live contracts bought at $0.50:
This means Novig should not simply be described as "fee-free."
A more accurate description is that standard pregame straight trades and maker fills are currently fee-free, while live taker trades and parlays can carry trading fees.
Sports are Novig's core product.
Current Novig documentation lists markets covering:
Market types vary by sport but can include:
Most supported sports offer some form of live trading, although availability varies by event and market.
For sports users, this is Novig's clearest point of differentiation from broader prediction markets.
Novig currently advertises a new-member incentive connected to a qualifying deposit.
Under its current referral and new-member terms, an eligible new member who completes a qualifying deposit of at least $10 can receive $25 in Trade Credits.
Trade Credits are promotional trading funds rather than withdrawable cash and are subject to separate usage, expiry and eligibility conditions.
ATS does not currently have an exclusive Novig offer, so we would treat this as a platform promotion rather than the central reason to use Novig.
Always check the current terms inside Novig before making a deposit because promotion conditions can change.
Novig now operates using real money rather than the former Novig Cash and Novig Coins structure.
Current Novig documentation lists fee-free deposit options including:
Credit card, debit card and Apple Pay deposits currently carry a 3% processing fee.
Novig also supports USDC and USDT stablecoin deposits through Coinflow. Cryptocurrency is therefore an option, but it is not required to use Novig.
Users should check the actual funding screen before depositing because available payment methods can vary.
Eligible straight positions can be closed before the underlying event ends.
The cash-out amount is based on the current market price and available liquidity rather than a predetermined percentage of the original trade.
That means a cash-out can be worth more or less than your original position.
Novig currently says parlays and live player props are not eligible for its standard cash-out feature, and cash-out may be unavailable when there is insufficient market activity to generate an executable price.
This is another reason liquidity matters.
Novig says trades are graded using official data sources after an event ends.
Settlement typically occurs within approximately 30 minutes, although individual markets or disputes can take longer.
Users should always read the individual contract terms before trading because the contract itself determines the settlement conditions.
As of August 20, 2026, Novig says its federally regulated product is available across the United States except Arizona, Michigan and Nevada.
Users must:
Eligibility is based on your physical location when using the platform, not simply your state of residence.
That means the frequently used description "nationwide" needs some context.
In practical terms, Novig currently operates in 47 states, not all 50.
Novig operates through Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which the CFTC designated as a Designated Contract Market on June 16, 2026.
That gives Novig a federal derivatives-regulation framework rather than the state-by-state sportsbook licensing structure used by traditional sports betting operators.
However, that does not mean the legal debate around sports prediction markets is over.
States and prediction-market operators continue to disagree over whether sports event contracts offered through federally regulated exchanges can also be subject to state gambling laws.
Novig itself filed a federal lawsuit against New York shortly after its August launch seeking to prevent state authorities from enforcing state gambling rules against its event-contract business.
For that reason, we would avoid broad statements such as "Novig is legal in all 50 states."
A better description is that Novig operates a CFTC-designated exchange and currently allows eligible trading in 47 states, while the wider legal fight over sports event contracts remains active.
For more background, see our guide to Are Prediction Markets Legal?.
Novig introduced an expanded responsible-trading framework in August 2026.
The company maintains a nationwide 21+ requirement and provides tools including account limits, temporary time-outs and self-exclusion options. Novig announced on August 13 that responsible-trading standards had also been incorporated into the Ludlow Exchange rulebook.
Users can currently select temporary time-outs ranging from one day to six months.
Prediction-market trading involves real financial risk. A contract can settle at $0 and users can lose the full amount committed to a position.
Novig currently provides in-app Live Chat for account and trading issues.
Its help documentation also directs customers to email support for certain account requests, including permanent account closure.
For grading disputes, Novig asks users to provide the relevant trade or order-slip information through Live Chat. The company says those disputes are generally reviewed against official statistics.
Novig and Kalshi are both built around federally regulated event contracts, but they serve somewhat different users.
Feature | Novig | Kalshi |
|---|---|---|
Regulatory structure | CFTC Designated Contract Market | CFTC Designated Contract Market |
Main focus | Sports | Broad real-world events |
Sports | Core product | Major category |
Politics | Not a core focus | Yes |
Economics | Not a core focus | Yes |
Weather | Not a core focus | Yes |
Standard pregame straight trading fee | Currently $0 | Fees generally apply depending on market |
Live sports trading | Yes | Yes |
Player props | Yes | Available in eligible markets |
Parlays | Yes | Available |
Novig is the more natural fit for someone primarily interested in sports.
Kalshi is much broader and is better suited to users who want one prediction-market account covering sports alongside elections, economics, weather, culture and other events.
Read our complete Kalshi Review for a closer look at the comparison.
Novig is entering a much more competitive market than existed only a few years ago.
Sports-focused users can now compare it with products from Crypto.com, DraftKings and FanDuel, while Kalshi and Polymarket remain two of the biggest names in the wider prediction-market category.
Novig's strongest differentiator is that sports prediction markets are not an extension of another business. They are the company's primary product.
The most important risks are:
Liquidity: Available prices and trade size depend on other market participants.
Market risk: Contracts can settle at $0, meaning you can lose the full amount committed.
Execution: Prices can change quickly, especially during live events.
Fees: Fee-free pregame trading does not mean every Novig trade is free.
Settlement rules: Individual contract terms determine how markets resolve.
Regulatory risk: Sports event contracts remain part of an unresolved state-versus-federal regulatory dispute.
The biggest mistake would be treating Novig like a normal sportsbook simply because many of its markets look familiar.
No. The current Novig product operates as a prediction-market exchange through CFTC-designated Ludlow Exchange, LLC rather than as a conventional state-licensed sportsbook.
Yes. The CFTC designated Ludlow Exchange, LLC as a Designated Contract Market on June 16, 2026.
Novig currently says it is available to eligible users across the U.S. except while physically located in Arizona, Michigan or Nevada.
Novig requires users to be at least 21 years old.
Some trades are fee-free and others are not. Standard pregame straight trades and maker fills currently carry no trading fee. Live taker trades and parlays can carry fees.
Novig retired both currencies during its 2026 transition to a real-money federally regulated prediction-market exchange.