Sydney Sweeney is stepping into a very different spotlight. The actress is joining sports prediction-market company Novig as an equity partner, but this is not being presented as a standard celebrity endorsement. Her involvement reaches into the creative and strategic side of the business, with Sweeney helping shape Novig’s first major brand campaign.
The result is “Just Sports,” a deliberately cheeky campaign designed to make one thing clear: Novig wants to focus on sports prediction markets rather than politics, wars, deaths or other controversial event markets. But the campaign—and Sweeney’s role in it—reveals a much bigger story about how the actress is expanding her career beyond simply appearing on screen.
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Sydney Sweeney Is More Than the Face of Novig
Sweeney’s partnership with Novig is considerably more hands-on than a conventional advertising deal.
She is an equity partner and strategic partner in the company, giving her an ownership interest while also allowing her to participate in the development of the brand. According to the company and reporting surrounding the campaign, she was involved in creative conversations from the beginning.
That process happened while Sweeney was in Australia filming Netflix’s live-action Gundam. Despite being far from the United States, she remained involved with the campaign and eventually reunited with members of her longtime creative team for the shoot.
“Because I’ve been a part of the creative conversations from the very beginning,” Sweeney shared with Complex, “I had built an amazing relationship with everyone involved, and I was really excited to get to set.”
The experience also gave her a chance to reconnect with people she has worked with for years.
“It can be kind of isolating when you’re away for that long,” Sweeney continued, “so being able to have my entire glam team come down, and my team who I’ve been with for almost a decade—they’re like my family—it was really exciting to be able to see them again.”
Her comments fit a broader pattern in Sweeney’s career. She has increasingly taken on producing and creative responsibilities instead of limiting herself to acting.
“I actually find myself being able to work better when I have more hats to wear,” Sweeney says. “I love being able to be involved in the entire process with every single person from the ground up. It is such a great ownership. I’m challenging myself, I’m learning so much more, but then I also have such a creative authority that is really amazing to be able to sit at a table and be a part of every discussion, whether it’s from casting, marketing, budgeting, who we’re going to sell this to, what market; being involved in all of that has honestly been able to help me appreciate every single person on set.”
She also made clear that simply attaching her name to a company was never the appeal.
“I’ve always believed that the best partnerships are the ones where everyone’s getting to collaborate,” Sweeney explains. “I don’t like to just put my face on something. I really want to be able to get into the weeds of it with an amazing team. And I got to meet the Novig team. Jacob’s incredible, and I believed in him as a founder.”
And she added:
“Being able to be a part of watching this company grow and not just be the face of it is really important to me.”
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What Is Novig’s “Just Sports” Campaign?
The campaign itself is built around a deliberately straightforward proposition: Novig wants to be a prediction market focused exclusively on sports.
Rather than trying to compete by offering contracts across a huge range of subjects, Novig is making its limitations part of the marketing message. The campaign explicitly contrasts its sports focus with markets involving politics, wars and deaths.
Sweeney delivers the central message:
“No betting on wars, or deaths, and no politics. Just you, your takes and sports.”
The advertising uses the actress’s recognizable provocative style to make that message difficult to miss.
In the main commercial, Sweeney appears with sports equipment strategically positioned around her while moving through a series of sports-related settings. A second advertisement plays with the language of self-control and sports culture, with Sweeney using the line:
“takes balls”
The humour and visual provocation are intentional. Novig is trying to make its identity memorable while entering an increasingly crowded prediction-market and sports-wagering landscape.
The campaign is being rolled out through traditional television, streaming video, paid social media and out-of-home advertising. Sweeney’s own social-media reach is also expected to contribute significantly to its visibility.
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Why Sydney Sweeney Fits a Sports Prediction-Market Brand
Sweeney’s connection to sports is not simply a marketing invention.
She told Complex that athletics played a major role in her childhood and that she participated in several sports.
“I grew up loving sports,” she says. “I played sports growing up. I was on a soccer team, I was on a softball team, I was on a snow ski team. I learned how to slalom ski when I was little, and I did MMA. So sports have been a really big part of my life, and I love watching hockey and boxing, especially after playing Christie Martin.”
She continued:
“I have a really huge appreciation for every single fighter.”
There was even a point when Sweeney imagined pursuing a competitive sporting ambition of her own.
“There was a moment, though, when I was 12,” Sweeney continues, “I really wanted to go to the X Games for wakeboarding, but that didn’t happen.”
Her willingness to explore different interests also connects with how she views acting and her expanding professional life.
“Well, first, my parents always told me to fall in love with as many things as possible,” Sweeney shares, “so they really wanted me to try absolutely everything. I think that the idea and concept of acting was my ability and my choice to be able to not have to pick being one thing for the rest of my life. I get to play all these different characters. I get to learn so much about other people and the world. I get to travel. I get to meet interesting and smart, intelligent, creative people, and it’s broadened my world so much more than if I would’ve just chosen one thing.”
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Novig’s Prediction-Market Expansion and 2026 Regulatory Push
Behind the celebrity campaign is a significant change in Novig’s own business.
Novig was founded as a sports-focused peer-to-peer betting exchange before pursuing a transition toward the federally regulated prediction-market model.
In February 2026, the company announced a $75 million Series B financing round at a reported $500 million post-money valuation as it pursued regulatory approval.
The company operates through Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which was established to operate as a designated contract market regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. CFTC filings identify Novig Betting, Inc. as the member of Ludlow Exchange and Jacob Fortinsky as the company’s chief executive.
Novig received its CFTC Designated Contract Market designation in June 2026, paving the way for its transition toward a federally regulated sports prediction-market operation. The company subsequently moved toward a nationwide launch of its regulated platform.
| Key detail | Verified information |
| Company | Novig |
| Campaign | “Just Sports” |
| Sweeney’s role | Equity partner and strategic partner |
| February 2026 financing | $75 million Series B |
| Reported post-money valuation | $500 million |
| Exchange entity | Ludlow Exchange, LLC |
| CFTC designation | Designated Contract Market, June 2026 |
| CFTC-identified member | Novig Betting, Inc. |
| CEO | Jacob Fortinsky |
| Campaign rollout | Television, streaming video, paid social media and out-of-home advertising |
The regulatory structure matters because prediction markets have increasingly emerged as competitors to conventional sportsbooks, presenting themselves as exchanges where customers trade event contracts rather than place traditional sportsbook wagers.
Novig CEO and co-founder Jacob Fortinsky has argued that the distinction is fundamentally about product structure rather than terminology.
“The term ‘bet’ or ‘gamble’ describes a consumer behavior,” Fortinsky said. “People get so caught up in the semantics, and what we’re really trying to focus on is the structure, the actual product.”
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Why Novig Is Emphasizing Sports—and Nothing Else
The “Just Sports” strategy is designed to distinguish Novig from prediction-market platforms offering contracts across much broader categories.
The company is effectively advertising what users will not find on its platform: markets focused on politics, wars or deaths.
Fortinsky said Sweeney helped deliver that message in a way the company believed would cut through the noise.
“Sports fans deserve a prediction market built specifically for them,” Fortinsky said. “There are many places where people can engage with prediction markets across different categories. Our focus is sports, and by dedicating ourselves entirely to sports, we have built a better experience for fans. Sydney helped bring that message to life in a way that’s impossible to ignore.”
That positioning comes as the wider prediction-market industry competes with established sportsbooks and rapidly expanding platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Celebrity involvement has increasingly become part of that competition, making Sweeney’s participation particularly valuable as Novig works to establish a recognizable consumer identity.
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The Provocative Advertising Strategy Behind “Just Sports”
The campaign also fits neatly into Sweeney’s recent advertising profile.
Her 2025 American Eagle campaign generated significant online discussion and reinforced her reputation as a celebrity capable of creating immediate attention around commercial work. She has also appeared in campaigns for Dr. Squatch and Armani, while developing her own lingerie business, SYRN.
Novig takes that same willingness to provoke into the sports-prediction category, combining humour, sexuality and visual provocation rather than relying on a traditional celebrity endorsement.
The objective is straightforward: make the campaign memorable enough for viewers to talk about while ensuring Novig’s sports-only identity remains clear.
That matters in a sector still working to establish itself with mainstream American consumers. Traditional sportsbooks already have extensive brand recognition, while prediction-market companies are competing to explain products that can look similar to sports betting even as they emphasise different legal and market structures.
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The Responsibility Question Around Prediction Markets
The campaign’s playful tone does not change the financial reality for consumers: users are putting money at risk based on predictions about sporting events.
Novig’s emphasis on responsible participation is therefore another part of its positioning.
Because Novig operates under a federal regulatory framework rather than the state-by-state sportsbook system, its marketing requirements differ from those governing traditional state-regulated sportsbooks. The company is attempting to make responsible participation part of its own positioning rather than treating it solely as a mandated advertising message.
The broader industry continues to debate whether prediction markets should primarily be understood as financial event contracts or as a new form of sports wagering.
For Novig, the answer is to emphasise the mechanics and structure of its market while acknowledging the behaviour of consumers.
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Sydney Sweeney’s Expanding Role Behind the Camera
The Novig deal is also another step in Sweeney’s evolution from actor to increasingly hands-on creative and business figure.
She has taken on producing responsibilities alongside acting, including work connected to Anyone But You, Christy and The Housemaid. She is also attached as a producer on future projects including Gundam.
Complex reported that Sweeney has produced or executive produced four films since 2023, while continuing to expand her involvement in projects beyond acting.
Her comments about Novig make the nature of this partnership especially clear. She is not describing herself as someone who simply appears in an advertisement. She sees the deal as an opportunity to participate in the company’s growth and contribute to its creative and business direction.
“I love being able to be involved in the entire process with every single person from the ground up,” she said. “It is such a great ownership.”
What Comes Next for Sydney Sweeney and Novig?
For Novig, the immediate goal is visibility.
The company is entering a competitive market where traditional sportsbooks, prediction-market exchanges and newer financial-style event-contract platforms are all competing for users. Sweeney gives Novig a highly recognisable mainstream entertainment figure as it works to establish its identity nationwide.
For Sweeney, the partnership adds another business and creative responsibility to an already diverse portfolio. She is continuing her acting career, producing projects and expanding her involvement in commercial ventures.
That makes “Just Sports” more significant than a celebrity appearing in an attention-grabbing commercial. The campaign is an attempt by Novig to turn sports prediction markets into a recognisable consumer brand, while giving Sweeney another opportunity to demonstrate the increasingly hands-on role she wants to play beyond the screen.
Her own description of the partnership perhaps sums up that shift best:
“Being able to be a part of watching this company grow and not just be the face of it is really important to me.”
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Conclusion
Sydney Sweeney’s Novig partnership combines celebrity influence, sports culture, creative control and a major business expansion. Her role as an equity and strategic partner goes beyond simply appearing in “Just Sports,” with the actress participating in the campaign’s development and helping shape how Novig presents itself to consumers.
At the same time, Novig is using its sports-only identity to separate itself from broader prediction-market platforms, following its $75 million Series B financing, reported $500 million post-money valuation and June 2026 CFTC Designated Contract Market designation.
The result is a campaign designed to be hard to ignore—and a partnership that reflects Sweeney’s increasingly active role behind the camera as well as in front of it.
Source Disclaimer
This article has been prepared based on thorough research of the sources provided below, including public reporting, company information and regulatory records identified in the supplied material. The article reflects the information available from those sources and does not imply independent verification beyond what those sources support. Prediction-market regulations and product availability can change, and readers should independently review applicable terms, regulations and responsible-trading information before participating in any prediction-market product.
Sources
- The Wall Street Journal — CMO Today: Sydney Sweeney Brings Star Power to Prediction Market Push — reporting on Sweeney’s Novig equity partnership, the “Just Sports” campaign, Novig’s positioning and comments from CEO Jacob Fortinsky. The Wall Street Journal article
- Complex: Exclusive: Sydney Sweeney Talks Novig Partnership, New ‘Just Sports’ Campaign — Sweeney’s direct comments about the partnership, creative involvement, sports background, and desire to have a hands-on role. Complex interview
- U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Regulatory filing for Ludlow Exchange, LLC, identifying the entity established to operate as a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market and its relationship with Novig Betting, Inc. CFTC regulatory filing
- Sports Business Journal: Reporting on Novig’s $75 million Series B financing and its transition toward a CFTC-regulated prediction-market model. Sports Business Journal
Featured Image Credit: Jay Dixit / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
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