Earlier this week, Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky took to social media to relay the platform’s sentiments on which NFL sports contracts should be removed from all prediction markets. Fortinsky’s statement on X was in reaction to a recent letter that the NFL sent to prediction platforms, urging them to remove what the league calls “objectionable bets.”
Fortinsky posted on Tuesday that Novig “received a letter from the NFL late last week on markets that are ‘easily manipulable, inherently objectionable, officiating related, and knowable in advance.’ Shared examples include a kicker missing a field goal or a celebrity attending a game. Novig is in full agreement with the NFL in not offering these markets, with no exceptions.”
The Harvard University graduate ended his post by saying, “Separate from the letter we received last week, we are also in full agreement with the NFL that prediction markets should only be available to those 21 or older. Novig has been, and always will be, 21+.”
So far, Novig is the only CFTC-regulated prediction exchange that doesn’t allow 18-to-20-year-olds access to its platform. Novig is also unique in that it offers sports contracts exclusively, meaning traders who want to forecast event outcomes that are not tied to sports must sign up with a competing exchange.
While Novig’s sports trading volume lags far behind the numbers that have been posted by market leaders Kalshi and Robinhood, the exchange is making a name for itself in the realm of responsible trading initiatives. Last month, Novig revamped its consumer protection measures and codified a first-of-its-kind responsible trading framework.
The 21+ sports exchange is hoping to steadily improve its trading volume metrics over the course of the 2026 NFL regular season after receiving a regulatory green light from the CFTC last month to commence operations. Novig achieved $125 million in sports trading volume during its inaugural week, before the college football and NFL football regular seasons began.
Aside from nationwide access that ensures market liquidity and ongoing legal battles, rival prediction platforms are likely to view a 21+ minimum age requirement as the most significant threat to preserving their jaw-dropping trading volume.
A recent CNN article written by senior reporter Marshall Cohen stated that the percentage of overall Kalshi trading volume from individuals who are between the ages of 18 and 20 is 3.14%. That percentage may appear small in relative terms, but 18-to-20 is the only commonly used age-based demographic that includes just three calendar years.
Culturally speaking, many sports fans are likely to be introduced to the prospect of frequent sports trading (or sports betting, depending on which product is being used and how the product is categorized) once they are “college age.”
This reality has led almost all of the state-licensed sportsbook operators to incorporate a 21+ minimum age requirement for participating in sports betting activities, although there are a few exceptions such as Wyoming, New Hampshire, Montana, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. In three of those cases, sports betting is overseen by a state lottery regulator, where tickets can be purchased by any individual who is 18 or older.
But prediction markets claim to offer financial derivatives that fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the CFTC, a claim that the federal agency wholeheartedly supports, even for trades that are linked to sports outcomes. Novig’s 21+ minimum age requirement may be the “right fit” for that specific platform. However, competing CFTC-regulated exchanges will most likely prefer to continue offering their sports contracts to account holders who are between the ages of 18 and 20, regardless of what the NFL or Novig think.
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