Novig has filed suit against New York regulators, seeking to block the state from targeting its newly launched sports prediction markets.
Novig has taken New York regulators to federal court, just one day after rolling out its sports-focused prediction market platform nationwide.
Key Takeaways
- Novig is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop New York from interfering with its sports event contracts
- The filing follows similar state action against Kalshi, Coinbase Financial Markets, and Gemini Titan
- Novig launched its platform in 47 states, including New York, on August 4
What Happened
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul announced on July 31 that the state had sued Kalshi, accusing it of running an unlicensed gambling platform. Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan were named in similar state actions. Novig’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues the state is likely to take the same approach against it next, and asks the court to block that before it happens.
Novig’s filing points to its newly secured status as a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market, arguing that federal oversight of its event contracts preempts New York’s attempt to regulate the platform under state gambling law. The company’s attorneys wrote that the state’s enforcement pattern against similarly positioned operators made action against Novig appear imminent.
State gaming regulators are responsible for licensing and overseeing traditional sportsbooks. Novig and other prediction market operators contend that their contracts function as federally regulated financial derivatives rather than state-regulated wagers, placing them outside that licensing structure entirely, a legal question that remains unsettled and contested by New York officials.
For more on how this regulatory fight is playing out nationally, see Prediction Market Regulation 2026: What Bettors Need to Know.
Background
Novig didn’t start as a prediction market. The company launched in Colorado in 2024 as a licensed, state-regulated sportsbook, shifted to a sweepstakes model later that year, and moved into prediction markets earlier this year after receiving CFTC approval on June 16. Unlike competitors such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which offer contracts spanning politics, culture, and other topics, Novig’s markets are limited to sports.
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The Broader Legal Fight
Novig’s suit adds to a growing pattern of prediction market operators challenging state regulators in court. A federal judge denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction against New York in early July, and the sector’s biggest platforms have generally continued expanding into new states rather than pulling back while these legal questions play out.