Also: CFTC is scrutinizing prediction-market promos.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

October 01, 2026   |   Read online

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October 1, 2026

Sports-focused prediction-market platform Novig is raising a new round of capital that’s expected to value the company at up to $2 billion. Novig recently received significant attention—and backlash—after a racy ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, who’s also an equity partner in the company. 

—Ben Horney

 

First Up

  • The CFTC is conducting a sweep of incentive programs offered by prediction-market platforms over concerns that some use misleading promotions to attract traders. 

  • The Women’s Pro Baseball League fired a board member who had sued it for financial records.

  • Jazz and Mammoth owner Ryan Smith, a major donor to alma mater BYU, said the school will receive a sizable portion of his estate when he passes away.

  • New York sued Polymarket, seeking at least $4.6 billion in damages, claiming the company has been offering unlicensed gambling.

 

Novig to Quadruple Valuation With New Funding Round

Novig to Quadruple Valuation With New Funding Round

John Jones-Imagn Images

Novig is raising a new round of capital that’s expected to value the sports-focused prediction-market platform at up to $2 billion, Front Office Sports has learned. 

The company is currently in talks with investors, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Two sources say the company expects to close the round this winter, possibly before the end of the year. One source tells FOS that “received interest” from investors has been at a $2 billion valuation. 

It was not clear how much capital the company will raise in the round or which investors will participate. Existing Novig investors include venture capital firms Pantera Capital and Forerunner Ventures, as well as former star NFL quarterback Joe Montana. 

Novig began receiving “tons” of interest after the CFTC in June approved it as a designated contract market, one source says. That allowed the company to operate as a federally regulated prediction market nationwide. Novig also recently received significant attention after its racy commercial featuring actress Sydney Sweeney—who is now an equity partner in the company—in an ad that has also received backlash due to its risqué nature. 

Reached for comment, Novig confirmed the company is fundraising.

If Novig successfully completes the funding at a $2 billion valuation, it would represent a 300% increase in valuation for the business in less than a year, after it raised $75 million at a $500 million valuation in February. Including a prior $18 million funding round that closed in August 2025, Novig has raised more than $105 million to date.

A $2 billion valuation would still pale in comparison to Novig’s two largest prediction-market competitors, Kalshi and Polymarket. Kalshi is reportedly in advanced talks to raise an additional $1 billion at a roughly $40 billion valuation. Polymarket is putting the finishing touches on its own $1 billion funding round that is being led by Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital, a source tells FOS. Polymarket’s funding will reportedly value the company at about $21 billion.

Novig cofounder Jacob Fortinsky has expressed confidence in his company’s ability to compete. Over the summer, he told FOS that Novig has a “significant second-mover advantage,” and said “I’m very optimistic that a year from now we will very much be one of the first companies people think of when they hear about prediction markets.”

Fortinsky feels his company’s focus on sports sets it apart from competitors. During the FOS Asset Class event on Sept. 15, he said Novig’s “north star” has always been “to be the most hyperefficient, hyperliquid sports trading venue globally and to offer the most consumer-friendly, high-integrity, and efficient experience for the everyday sports consumer.”

Novig, founded in 2021, has been building its public profile this year. In addition to the Sweeney ad, it became the first prediction-market platform to reach a team-level deal with an MLB franchise through an exclusive, multiyear agreement with the Mets. It also had a short-term deal with LIV Golf during the Masters Tournament in April, months before the golf league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

 

DEAL FLOW

MSG Spin-Off

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

  • The Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. board of directors has approved the planned spin-off that will result in the Knicks and Rangers becoming separate, publicly traded entities. The transaction is expected to close Oct. 26, at which point anyone will be able to buy stock specifically in the Knicks or Rangers. The two entities will be called MSG Knickerbockers Corp. and MSG Rangers Corp., and James Dolan will serve as executive chairman and CEO for both. Madison Square Garden itself remains owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.

  • Todd Boehly’s firm Eldridge is leading an investment round for Overtime, which runs youth basketball, football, and other sports leagues. Financial terms were not disclosed. Other Eldridge investments include MLB’s Dodgers and the WNBA’s Sparks. Boehly, who owns a stake in the Lakers alongside outgoing owner Mark Walter, often does business with the embattled TWG Global CEO. The duo just sold their stakes in Premier League club Chelsea.

  • Nick Leopard, the founder and CEO of private-equity consulting firm Accordion, is buying a minority stake in the Islanders, according to a statement shared with Front Office Sports. Leopard also owns the Binghamton Black Bears, a minor league hockey team. The announcement comes after Sportico reported this week that the Islanders are selling a total 15% stake to multiple investors at a $3 billion valuation. In early September, David Shuman, founder of venture capital firm Lateralus Holdings, revealed he was taking a minority stake in the Islanders.

  • The company behind the Enhanced Games announced a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, which means every 10 shares will be consolidated into one. Enhanced Group, whose stock is down more than 86% year to date, says the decision is not a response to “any notice of non-compliance” with the New York Stock Exchange, but instead to attract more institutional investors. The business, backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital, went public through a SPAC merger earlier this year that valued it at $1.2 billion. The company lost nearly $62 million in the second quarter, driven by the cost of staging its debut event in May.

 

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Written by Ben Horney

Edited by Lisa Scherzer, Catherine Chen

 

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