Novig Review 2026
Novig became a federally regulated prediction market in August 2026. Real regulatory standing, peer to peer pricing, and no CS2 markets yet. Here is where it fits and where it does not.
Reviewed September 2026 by Game of SkillNovig does not list CS2. Its contract filings through Ludlow Exchange cover golf, tennis, UFC, MLB, the NFL and the WNBA, with no esports listings. If Counter-Strike is your only reason for opening an account, wait. Open it for the sports it does cover, and check back.
Deposit $10, get $25. CFTC regulated exchange, live in 47 states, 21 and over.
CodeSKILLEverything material on one screen.
| Item | Detail | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | CFTC Designated Contract Market, granted 16 June 2026 through Ludlow Exchange LLC | Same as Kalshi |
| Live since | 4 August 2026. Applied January, approved June, nationwide rollout August | |
| States | 47. Arizona, Michigan and Nevada are geofenced | 21 and over |
| CS2 | Filings cover golf, tennis, UFC, MLB, NFL and WNBA. No esports listings | Not listed |
| Pricing | Set by supply and demand between traders, no margin built into the line | No house margin |
| Track record | Founded 2021. Exchange, then sweepstakes, then the CFTC route. Cumulative volume past $6 billion |
Novig raised $75 million in February 2026, taking total funding past $100 million, and signed a multi-year deal as the exclusive prediction market partner of the New York Mets.
The only thing that decides whether this page matters to you.
Game of Skill is a CS2 site and Novig does not have CS2. Its filings run to dozens of sports contracts and none of them are esports.
The reason to pay attention anyway is that the hard part is done. Getting a Designated Contract Market approved is the barrier that keeps most operators out, and Novig cleared it in five months. Adding a contract category to an exchange that already exists is a filing, not a rebuild.
Open an account for the sports it covers, and check back for CS2 rather than signing up for it. This page gets updated the day esports contracts appear.
Why the structure matters more than the interface.
You buy and sell contracts on whether something happens, priced between 1 and 99 cents, and the price is whatever another trader will take the other side at. A contract at 64 cents means the market thinks that outcome is 64 percent likely. It settles at 100 if it happens and 0 if it does not.
A traditional operator sets a number and builds its margin into it, so the two sides add up to more than 100. On an exchange the two sides add up to about 100 and the difference is the spread between what buyers and sellers will accept.
An exchange also has no reason to limit you for winning. It takes a fee on volume rather than a position against you, which is the structural reason winning accounts get restricted elsewhere and do not here.
Strengths
Designated Contract Market, the same federal standing as Kalshi and Polymarket
Live in 47 states under one national framework rather than state by state licensing
Peer to peer pricing with no house margin built into the number
No structural reason to limit winning accounts
Sports-only focus, so the interface is not sharing space with politics markets
Weaknesses
No CS2 or esports markets at all
Not available in Arizona, Michigan or Nevada
21 and over, where several pick’em platforms are 18
Newest of the major exchanges, so liquidity on smaller markets is thinner than Kalshi
Old sweepstakes accounts do not carry over automatically
47 states, 21 and over. Arizona, Michigan and Nevada are geofenced.
Deposit $10 and get $25. If you held a sweepstakes account before August 2026 you have to authorise an app update first.
Golf, tennis, UFC, MLB, NFL and WNBA today. For CS2 use Kalshi or Polymarket until esports contracts appear here.
Two different questions, two different edges, same slate.
Pick’em asks whether one player clears one number, and the entry locks once it is in. A prediction market prices who wins the series and stays tradeable until it settles. Those are separate edges and they do not turn up on the same nights.
A slate can carry a badly priced favourite and not one soft player number, or the exact reverse. Running both is coverage, not diversification. MARKET publishes our series fair values against live prices, CARNAGE and RANGE cover the player side.
The platforms we hold accounts with and actually use.
| Platform | Type | CS2 | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underdog | Pick’em | Deepest player board | Up to $1,000 bonus cash |
| Kalshi | Prediction market | Series and tournaments | $25 on a $25 trade |
| Betr | Pick’em | Major events | $200 in no-sweat entries |
| Rebet | Peer to peer | Not confirmed | 100% match up to $100 |
| Novig | Prediction market | No CS2 yet | $25 on a $10 deposit |
Novig is a CFTC regulated exchange in 47 states and worth an account now, but CS2 is not live on it yet.
Not yet. Filings through Ludlow Exchange cover golf, tennis, UFC, MLB, the NFL and the WNBA, with no esports listings. For CS2 use Kalshi or Polymarket today.
Yes. Designated Contract Market status from the CFTC, granted 16 June 2026 through Ludlow Exchange LLC. Same federal framework as Kalshi and Polymarket, which is what allows nationwide access without state by state licensing.
47 states. Arizona, Michigan and Nevada are geofenced. Traders must be 21 or older.
You trade against other users, not the house. Prices move on supply and demand instead of carrying a built-in margin, and an exchange has no structural reason to limit a winning account.
Not automatically. Novig ran as a sweepstakes platform until August 2026. Existing holders have to authorise and install an app update, and a geolocation check is now part of the process.
Novig is a CFTC regulated sports prediction market that went live nationwide on 4 August 2026 after receiving Designated Contract Market status in June. It operates in 47 states for traders 21 and over, prices contracts peer to peer with no house margin, and is not available in Arizona, Michigan or Nevada. New users get $25 on a $10 deposit with code SKILL. Novig does not list CS2 or esports contracts as of September 2026. For CS2 see Kalshi and Polymarket, for player ratings see CARNAGE, and for series fair values see MARKET.