A Novig advertisement featuring actor Sydney Sweeney posing with sports equipment while promoting a peer-to-peer prediction market drew sharp criticism from elite athletes, who said the spot trades on sexualized imagery rather than athletic achievement.
What the campaign shows
The video, released ahead of the NFL season, depicts Sweeney in minimal clothing covering herself with footballs, basketballs, and hockey pads while touting Novig’s sports-only contract menu. Chief executive Jacob Fortinsky told Front Office Sports that Sweeney sought an equity stake, not a traditional endorsement.
Novig bars political and mortality markets, sets a minimum age of 21, and markets itself as an exchange rather than a sportsbook. Those guardrails did little to soften athlete anger.
Athletes respond
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus said she was “infuriated” by marketing she thought belonged in the past. British sprinter Amy Hunt told the BBC after a championship race, “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women’s sport looks like,” pointing to her own performance footage.
Variety cataloged posts from gymnast Gracie Kramer, water polo medalist Tilly Kearns, and others sharing highlight reels under captions rejecting sexualized portrayals.
Sweeney’s reply
On Instagram, Sweeney shared past ESPN Body Issue photos of athletes who posed nude, arguing that criticism was selective. Critics countered that those shoots featured competitors showcasing trained bodies, not a celebrity mimicking sports for a gambling app.
Regulatory context
Lawmakers in Australia and the U.S. renewed calls to restrict gambling ads near youth audiences. Former Olympian Zali Steggall, now a member of parliament, said the Novig spot lures young men into betting while demeaning women’s sports.
The controversy lands amid a celebrity arms race in prediction markets: LeBron James teased a Polymarket partnership days earlier, showing how star power is becoming a acquisition channel for fintech upstarts.
Brand calculus
Marketing professors noted Novig achieved viral reach at the cost of alienating a demographic—elite women athletes—it may need as leagues expand betting partnerships. Whether outrage converts to downloads or boycotts will show up in app store rankings later this month.
Hollywood agents said other celebrities will watch Sweeney’s equity deal as a template, but may demand creative control clauses after this week’s pile-on.
Novig’s Fortinsky told reporters the company stands by the creative, arguing humor and self-awareness differentiate the spot from traditional sportsbook ads. Athletes counter that women’s sports deserve the same respect as men’s when money flows through prediction markets.
YouTube comment moderation teams flagged the ad for age-restricted viewing in some regions, a reminder that platform policies may constrain distribution even when campaigns go viral.
Women’s sports leagues reviewing sponsorship codes said they may require betting partners to submit creative for athlete advisory panels before campaigns launch.
