By PredictQ Team // Updated: July 2026
On June 16, 2026, the CFTC approved Novig’s application to run a federally regulated Designated Contract Market through its entity Ludlow Exchange LLC. The application was filed in late January. Approval took about five months, one of the fastest DCM designations on record. That single fact changes how you should read every Novig review written before this summer.
Here’s where things stand in July 2026. Novig’s current product is still the sweepstakes-style peer-to-peer sports exchange it has run since 2024, live in roughly 40 states. The regulated real-money exchange is expected to launch by the end of summer, in Q3 2026, and DCM status clears the way for operation in all 50 states once it does. So you’re evaluating two things at once: the app you can trade today, and the exchange it becomes in a few months.
The core pitch hasn’t changed. Novig is a peer-to-peer exchange with no house margin baked into its lines. You set your own odds if you want to. The market prices the contract, and Novig matches the two sides.
What Novig Is
Novig launched commercially in January 2024, built by co-founders Jacob Fortinsky and Kelechi Ukah, both Harvard graduates who started the company in 2021. The platform is sports-only and mobile-only. Today it runs on a dual-currency sweepstakes structure: Novig Coins for free-to-play, Novig Cash for predictions that can be redeemed for real cash prizes.
The defining feature is the no-vig exchange model. A sportsbook bakes a margin into every line, which is why you lay -110 on both sides of a standard spread. On Novig you trade against other users at whatever price one of you posted. No house cut on the spread, which means pricing typically beats the -110 you’d lay at a book. For a bettor putting real volume through, that difference compounds into real money over a season.
State availability on the sweepstakes app sits at 40+ states, and the list moves as sweepstakes laws shift. California is out (its dual-currency ban took effect January 1, 2026), and Novig exited New Jersey back in 2024. The in-app eligibility check is the source of truth for your location. Once the regulated exchange launches, the DCM designation supports nationwide access, which makes the current state map a short-term problem.
Funding and Trajectory
The numbers behind the business are substantial. Novig closed a $75 million Series B in February 2026, led by Pantera Capital with Multicoin Capital, Makers Fund, Edge Equity, Forerunner, and Perceptive Ventures participating. The round valued the company around $500 million and pushed total capital raised past $105 million. By Novig’s own disclosure at the time, the platform was running at $4 billion in annualized trading volume with more than 100,000 traders.
Then came the regulatory win. Fortinsky filed the DCM application through Ludlow Exchange in January 2026 and had approval by June 16. Compare that to the roughly two years it took earlier applicants like Railbird and QCEX to get through the process. The CFTC moved fast, and Novig now holds the same designation as Kalshi, Polymarket’s QCEX, and Crypto.com’s exchange.
How Trading Works
Novig uses sportsbook-familiar bet types (moneylines, spreads, totals, props, parlays, futures) with an exchange engine underneath. Every position is two-sided. Someone takes the Yes, someone takes the No, and Novig matches them.
You place trades one of two ways. Take orders accept a price another user already posted, the equivalent of a market order at a brokerage. You see the price, you tap, it fills. Make orders are limit orders: you post your own price and wait for someone to accept it. If nobody does, your offer sits open until it fills or you cancel.
The Make side is where active traders get paid. Post limit orders at prices you think reflect true probability and you’re making the market at your own line instead of paying someone else’s spread.
One mechanic to understand before you fund an account: once a trade matches, the position goes into escrow until the event resolves. You cannot sell out of a matched position early the way you can on Kalshi or Polymarket. Pre-match, you can cancel or modify Make orders freely. Post-match, you’re locked in.
Markets and Liquidity
Coverage spans the major US leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NCAAF, NCAAB), UFC and combat sports, soccer from the EPL through MLS and the Champions League, plus tennis and golf. Bet types match what any sportsbook hangs: moneylines, spreads, totals, player and team props, parlays, same-game parlays, futures. A custom-odds feature called Novig Odds lets you name your own price and submit it to the book.
Liquidity is the variable that matters. Marquee events (NBA Playoffs, primetime MLB, big UFC cards) have deep books and fast matching. Niche props and lower-profile games run thin, so Make orders can sit unmatched and Take options get sparse. Novig competes on price, and market breadth is where it gives ground.
The Dual-Currency Model
This is the piece that will retire when the regulated exchange goes live, but it governs the app today. Two currencies, color-coded in the UI:
Novig Coins (yellow) are the free-to-play currency. Practice trading, entertainment, no cash value. You get a starter allocation at sign-up and earn more through daily logins, challenges, and referrals.
Novig Cash (blue) is the redeemable currency. It comes bundled with Coin purchases, from promotions, referrals, and winnings. It carries a 1x playthrough requirement, and once cleared, you can redeem it for real money at a $20 minimum.
The dual-currency structure is what lets Novig operate under sweepstakes law in states that never licensed sports betting. It’s a legal bridge, and the company has been explicit that the CFTC path replaces it.
Fees
There are none on trades. No commission, no transaction fee, no spread markup. The savings come from what’s missing: the roughly 4.5% hold a sportsbook builds into a standard -110/-110 line. A $100 position at true even money on Novig costs $100 to win $100. The same position at a book costs $110.
Novig charges nothing on redemptions either. Payment providers (Trustly, your bank, your card issuer) have their own rules, but the platform side is free. One caveat for the months ahead: the regulated exchange hasn’t published its fee schedule yet, so assume the zero-fee structure applies to the current app and check the new terms at launch.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Funding options: bank transfer via Trustly ($20 minimum, the standard route), Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover cards, Aeropay, Apple Pay and Google Pay where supported, and stablecoin deposits through supported partners. Trustly is the cheapest and most reliable. Card purchases sometimes come with bonus Novig Cash attached.
Redemptions run through bank transfer, debit card, or Venmo depending on availability. The minimum is $20, and processing typically takes 1-5 business days, with most clearing inside 48 hours.
Mobile Experience
Novig is mobile-only. No desktop. The iOS and Android apps are fast and stable, and the yellow/blue color coding keeps the two currencies straight. The interface layers exchange mechanics (order books, Make/Take, depth) on top of sportsbook-style organization by league and sport. Steeper learning curve than DraftKings, flatter than a futures terminal.
Support runs through the in-app help center and email, with turnaround generally inside 24 hours. No phone line.
Pros
True no-vig peer-to-peer pricing that typically beats standard -110 sportsbook lines
CFTC DCM approval secured June 16, 2026, with a regulated 50-state launch expected Q3 2026
Available in 40+ states today under the sweepstakes model
Make/Take order types give sharp bettors real price control
Deep coverage of major US leagues plus international soccer
Zero fees on trades and redemptions
$75M Series B at a ~$500M valuation, with Pantera leading
Cons
Mobile-only, no desktop platform
Matched positions are locked until resolution, no early exit
Sports-only, nothing on politics, economics, or culture
Dual-currency mechanics add friction until the regulated relaunch
Liquidity thins fast on niche props
21+ age requirement on the current app
Transition details (fees, migration, eligibility on the new exchange) still unpublished
Who Should Use It
Novig fits sports bettors who care about price above everything else. If you put serious volume through spreads and totals, the no-vig model is the cheapest way to do it in the US, and the edge compounds with every bet. It’s also the practical option in states where DraftKings and FanDuel were never licensed, with the whole country opening up after the Q3 launch.
Skip it if you want multi-category markets. Kalshi and Polymarket cover politics, econ, and culture; Novig doesn’t. Skip it if exiting positions early is core to how you trade, because matched positions stay matched. For everyone else pricing sports markets, this platform deserves a spot in the rotation.
Bottom Line
A year ago Novig was a well-funded sweepstakes app with a regulatory dream. Now it holds a CFTC DCM designation, earned in five months, with a nationwide regulated exchange arriving by end of summer. The pricing edge was always real. The legal foundation just caught up to it.
Sign up in an eligible state, test the Make/Take mechanics with small size, and be positioned when the regulated exchange flips on.
Disclosures: PredictQ may receive compensation when readers sign up for platforms through links on this page. We only partner with platforms we evaluate as legitimate, but compensation does not influence our editorial analysis. Information accurate as of July 2026. Novig currently operates a sweepstakes-style product that varies by state while it transitions to a CFTC-regulated exchange; always confirm current state availability and terms on the platform itself before depositing. Sports trading involves substantial risk and is not appropriate for all participants. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Must be 21 or older. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.