Mets Novig prediction market deal marks first MLB team partnership

The Mets Novig prediction market agreement gives the New York Mets a first-of-its-kind tie-up in Major League Baseball and gives Novig a high-profile sports marketing channel ahead of its planned August launch. The companies said Thursday, July 30, that Novig will become the club’s exclusive official prediction market partner.

Novig said it is preparing to launch as a federally regulated prediction market dedicated to sports. The Mets arrangement is also Novig’s first partnership with any professional sports team, according to the companies’ announcement.

The deal places a regulated prediction-market brand inside one of the largest U.S. sports markets as leagues, teams and financial-market-style trading platforms test new commercial models around fan engagement. For the Mets, the agreement adds a new sponsorship category at Citi Field and across team media.

What is the Mets Novig prediction market deal?

Under the partnership, Novig will receive signage at Citi Field, visibility during game broadcasts, branded in-game features and original digital content, the companies said. The Mets described the agreement as a way to offer fans another method of engaging with baseball.

A prediction market allows users to trade contracts tied to the outcome of future events. In Novig’s case, the company says its platform is being built for sports and will operate under federal oversight after securing Commodity Futures Trading Commission designation as a Designated Contract Market.

Novig CEO and co-founder Jacob Fortinsky said in the announcement that the company aims to build a central venue for sports trading and that the Mets partnership brings that effort to fans in a major sports market. Lew Sherr, the Mets’ president of business operations, said the club was proud to be the first MLB team to partner with a prediction market company.

How Novig reached federal designation

Novig has raised several rounds of capital while pursuing a U.S.-regulated structure. PYMNTS reported in August that the company raised $18 million in a Series A financing and intended to use the proceeds to support licensing across multiple states. PYMNTS also reported that Novig had pursued a U.S.-compliant path from its early stages.

In February, Novig announced a $75 million Series B round. The company said at the time that the financing brought its total capital raised to more than $105 million and that it had formally applied to the CFTC to become a licensed Designated Contract Market.

On June 16, Novig said it had received the CFTC designation. The company said that status positioned it to operate as a federally regulated prediction market and to expand nationally through a single regulatory framework.

The Mets partnership now gives Novig a public-facing launch platform in professional baseball. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the agreement.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.