Novig is taking its sports prediction market across the United States after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the New York company as a Designated Contract Market.

The designation puts Novig under a federal regulatory structure rather than the state-by-state licensing system used by traditional sportsbooks. It also gives the startup a nationwide route into a market dominated by operators such as DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM.

Users now have access to instant live trading, additional payment methods and greater liquidity. Novig says those upgrades should improve pricing and make trading sports markets quicker, including while games are underway.

Federal oversight also comes with additional controls. The company says it has expanded its compliance program, market surveillance and protections against manipulation and insider activity. Users must be at least 21.

“For too long, sports fans have had limited ways to engage with the markets they know best. They are among the most passionate and informed communities in the world, yet they’ve never had a platform truly built around how they think, engage, and trade,” said Jacob Fortinsky, co-founder and CEO of Novig. “We built Novig to change that, not only by creating the best place to trade sports, but by setting the standard for what a modern sports prediction market should be.

“That has meant building with trust, transparency, and responsible participation at the center, including maintaining a 21+ age requirement and investing in the compliance, market surveillance, and safeguards needed to scale responsibly. This launch is a major step toward bringing that vision to more users than ever before.”

Novig nationwide exchange market model challenges traditional sportsbooks

The company says cumulative trading volume has now exceeded $6 billion. Nationwide access could potentially bring more participants onto the platform, potentially adding liquidity and increasing trading activity.

Novig’s model also differs from a conventional sportsbook. Rather than having a bookmaker establish odds and take the other side of wagers, its exchange supposedly lets users trade with one another, with prices shaped by supply and demand.

This could have implications for sports betting. Major sportsbooks have spent years securing licenses and market access separately across states, while Novig’s CFTC designation provides a single federal framework for its prediction market.

The company has also made its treatment of successful customers part of its pitch. Novig says it does not impose punitive limits on winning traders, contrasting its exchange approach with restrictions that can be placed on successful sportsbook customers.

The CFTC designation places the business within a regulatory system associated with futures and derivatives markets, adding to the wider debate over whether sports event contracts should be treated as financial products or conventional gambling.

Novig describes itself as a platform created specifically for sports traders. Its designated contract market operates through Ludlow Exchange, LLC.

Featured image: Novig

The post Novig launches nationwide sports prediction market after securing federal CFTC approval appeared first on ReadWrite.