Novig Announces $75 Million Raise as CFTC Dives Into Litigation
Novig revealed its $75 million Series B raise on Wednesday as it seeks to become a federally regulated prediction market exchange. It has now raised $104 million in total.
Investors included Pantera Capital, Multicoin Capital, Makers Fund, Edge Equity, and “existing investors Forerunner, Perceptive Ventures, and NFX.”
In a post on X, Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky explained what sets his company apart not only from sportsbooks, but also from prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
“…we’ve also seen firsthand that regulation alone doesn’t fix the user experience. Odds are often worse than sportsbooks. Fans can’t place any parlay they want. Users are placed on waitlists. Institutions and normal sports fans are treated differently,” Fortinsky said. “This was not the intended outcome for this industry, and we intend to fix it.”
Meanwhile, the CFTC has more forcefully defended its authority over event contracts.
CFTC files in Ninth Circuit
Michael Selig took to X on Tuesday to announce that the CFTC would make its first friend-of-the-court filing, submitting it in the Ninth Circuit later that afternoon. This follows Selig’s Wall Street Journal op-ed and several media appearances defending event contracts.
Backlash has also become more public regarding the CFTC’s permissive approach to prediction markets. Progressives like Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have raised concerns about event contracts. Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also pledged to battle sports contracts in court.
Amid the backlash, Kalshi has secured two small victories in state courts that could keep its sports contracts alive in all 50 states for a little longer.
Ninth Circuit drama and Massachusetts stay
On Tuesday, Kalshi removed its state lawsuit brought by the Nevada Gaming Commission to federal court. Federal court is a more favorable battleground for Kalshi, but Nevada will attempt to bring the case back to state court.
Meanwhile in Massachusetts, Kalshi won a stay of injunction pending appeal. That gives Kalshi additional time to fight its court battle before it faces consequences like fines or geofencing from state gaming regulators.
Massachusetts Appeals Court is expediting Kalshi’s appeal and grants stay of injunction pending appeal pic.twitter.com/fdKy6upLZd
— Mick Bransfield (@MickBransfield) February 18, 2026
These pauses buy Kalshi time to offer its March Madness contracts to all 50 states at least for a couple of weeks. Whether it keeps that 50-state access through the championships will depend on these two state cases.