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While Polymarket pulled off a coup with the signings of James, Eli Manning and Derek Jeter, a Novig ad featuring Sweeney arguably received as much fanfare. Sweeney, an Emmy Award-nominated actress known for her role in HBO’s Euphoria series, stars in the spot titled “Just Sports.” As of Friday afternoon, the Novig post on social media platform X received at least nine million views.
Throughout the ad, Novig throws shade on its rivals for offering niche markets on events such as the timeframe for when traders believe that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be removed from office. Unlike operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket, Novig has opted to limit its offerings to purely sports. “No betting on wars, or deaths…or politics,” Sweeney mused.
During the 2025-26 NBA season, Kalshi made waves by granting an equity stake to two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. According to the Wall Street Journal, Sweeney’s representatives approached Novig to express interest as a potential investor. Eventually, the company granted her an undisclosed amount in equity. The increased role of celebrity endorsements in the space is a trend that will likely receive closer observation in the coming months.
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Based on its projections, EKG sees the overall sports wagering industry growing 8% year-over-year, outpacing the current baseline growth rate of 5% (a figure that strips out temporary boosts from the 2026 World Cup).
Assuming that 8% spurt is realized, it’d be impressive because since the end of the 2025 football season, only Missouri and Alberta, Canada joined the live and legal sports betting party with Arkansas opening to DraftKings and FanDuel earlier this year.
Prediction markets have proven effective at attracting sharp bettors and high-rollers who are often limited or banned by traditional sportsbooks. However, consumer surveys indicate that when given the choice between a sportsbook and a yes/no exchange, most recreational bettors still prefer the traditional sportsbook interface. That dynamic helps explain why prediction markets remain in second place.
About Babylon Riches
The transformation has not eliminated all of Cubeia’s concerns. And inevitably some coders are missing their original role.
“We still have people who loved the coding part – solving problems with code and writing beautiful code. They’re struggling with the change. For some people an important part of their work that they genuinely loved is now gone.”
There are also strategic questions around dependence on AI providers.
