Novig’s trading volume surged to record levels alongside the start of the NFL season, giving the sports-focused prediction market operator early momentum in an increasingly competitive industry.
- Novig generated $317.1 million in volume from Sept. 10-16, up 32.7% from the prior week, and captured 1.7% of tracked exchange activity.
- Novig surpassed $1.1 billion in cumulative volume within roughly six weeks as daily trading set records of about $66 million and $69 million during the first full NFL weekend.
- The Sept. 8 Sydney Sweeney ad increased Novig’s organic social reach by more than 200% and lifted the app from around 50th to the top 20 among sports downloads.
The exchange generated $317.1 million in notional trading volume from Sept. 10-16, a 32.7% increase from the preceding seven-day period, according to data from Aldrin Research.
The weekly total marked another step in Novig’s rapid growth since launching prediction markets nationwide Aug. 4. A company chart showed Novig surpassed $1.1 billion in cumulative volume within roughly six weeks, with daily activity rising sharply during the opening stretch of the NFL campaign.
Novig began with approximately $18 million in volume on its launch date and generally processed between $15 million and $35 million per day throughout August. Its daily volume reached approximately $50 million in early September before setting consecutive daily records of about $66 million and $69 million during the first full weekend of NFL games.
Novig ranked seventh among the 11 exchanges tracked by Aldrin, accounting for 1.7% of their combined $18.17 billion in volume.
Prediction markets see football boost
The industry-wide acceleration highlights football’s role in driving activity on sports prediction exchanges.
The NFL’s concentrated weekly schedule creates recurring demand for football-related contracts, while college football supplies additional inventory throughout the weekend. Both sports offer contracts resembling point spreads, moneylines and totals, potentially appealing to customers familiar with traditional sportsbooks.
The effect extends beyond Novig. Kalshi generated $13.62 billion in volume during the Sept. 10-16 period, accounting for 75% of all activity tracked by Aldrin. Polymarket’s U.S. platform handled $1.88 billion, while DraftKings’ DKeX recorded $471.5 million.
Nearly every sports-oriented exchange posted a weekly increase.
DKeX volume rose 84.2%, Crypto.com increased 50.1%, Rothera climbed 46.3%, and Underdog Exchange nearly doubled its total with a 96.7% gain. The collective growth reinforced football’s potential to drive prediction market adoption much as it anchors the traditional U.S. sports betting calendar.
Novig marketing makes waves
Novig sought to capitalize on football’s customer-acquisition potential by enlisting actor Sydney Sweeney for an advertising campaign released ahead of Week 1. The controversial promotional video features Sweeney using sports equipment in a suggestive manner while highlighting the contracts available through the platform.
The campaign also aims to distinguish Novig from broader exchanges that list contracts tied to elections, international conflicts, and other controversial subjects.
Novig offers only sports markets, with Sweeney emphasizing in the advertisement that the exchange permits “no betting on wars, or death, and no politics.”
The ad, released Sept. 8, increased Novig’s organic social media reach by more than 200% from the previous week, the largest gain among prediction-market platforms tracked by Aldrin. It also boosted Novig’s ranking among sports-related apps in the Apple App Store, moving Novig from around No. 50 to the top 20.
Sydney Sweeney's naked prediction market sports ad is No. 2 topic on U.S. Google Search over the past week. pic.twitter.com/ommocKp0G7
— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) September 16, 2026
Novig’s involvement with Sweeney, who is also an investor in the company, comes as competing platforms have also used high-profile celebrities in their marketing. Polymarket signed a multimillion-dollar deal with LeBron James, Betr featured an ad with the “Entourage” cast, and Kalshi launched a campaign with retired NFL star Marshawn Lynch.
Novig debuted in 2021 as a state-licensed sports betting application, later adopted a sweepstakes model, and then pivoted to federally regulated prediction markets. It also became the first prediction-market operator to partner with an MLB franchise through a July agreement with the New York Mets.
The company’s growth comes as the wider industry faces lawsuits and mounting opposition from state gaming regulators that consider sports event contracts an unauthorized form of wagering. Novig filed lawsuits seeking to block enforcement actions in five states during its first two weeks of nationwide operations.
Those legal questions remain unresolved, but the opening weeks of football have shown why exchanges are competing aggressively for sports customers.
