Novig signs expanded partnership with integrity firm IC360 ahead of NBA opener

Continuing its mantra of “Just Sports,” from a prominent Sydney Sweeney ad campaign, Novig announced an expanded partnership on Monday with IC360, a leading integrity and compliance technology provider.

Under the partnership, Novig will gain access to IC360’s ProhiTrade “Bad Actor” technology to help combat threats and harassment directed at athletes, coaches, referees and sports organisations. Through the technology, confirmed offenders and fraudsters are added to a centralised, encrypted registry shared across participating platforms in the Bad Actor network. Signify, a leading provider of social media protection to verify and detect bad actors, is collaborating on the initiative with IC360. 

The announcement comes on the eve of the 2026-27 NBA regular season on Tuesday when the New York Knicks will hoist their championship banner from their first title in more than 50 years. Last week, the NBA and its official sportsbook partners unveiled a series of prop and parlay restrictions aimed at mitigating some of the risks of match manipulation.

“We are thrilled to have a partner like Novig who values integrity and compliance as much as we do,” said Scott Sadin, who serves as a Co-CEO of IC360. “In adopting a full suite of our services, they are not only taking active steps to safeguard their users and platform, but elevating standards across the entire ecosystem.

“Their commitment to critical initiatives like Centralized Self-Exclusion and the ‘Bad Actor’ program demonstrates this at the highest level,” he added.

A stamp of endorsement from Sweeney

Last month, in the lead-up to the NFL season, Novig pulled off a coup of sorts when the prediction-market operator landed a multi-year endorsement deal with actress Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney, an Emmy nominated actress for her role on The White Lotus, boasts more than 1.2 million followers on the social media site X.

While the exact financial terms of Sweeney’s deal have not been publicly disclosed, the A-list celebrity opted for an equity stake in the company, according to multiple reports. An initial ad of Novig’s “Just Sports,” campaign received approximately 12 million views on X, paling in comparison to hits on Instagram, where Novig garnered nearly four times as much, over a 48-hour period. The racy ad features a scantily-clad Sweeney wearing hockey gear, hanging on a basketball hoop and sprawled out on a billiards table, among other venues.

Nevertheless, the ad has resonated with customers, driving a spike in downloads over the first six weeks of the season. After closing a $75 million Series B funding round in February, Novig received a valuation at the time of approximately $500 million. The addition of Sweeney, however, has sent its valuation soaring to roughly $2 billion, in less than two months.

Novig broached some integrity issues in a subsequent Sweeney ad that debuted on 9 October. In the 30-second spot, the actress referenced trading on wars, dictators and even the colour of underwear that she’s wearing in a particular scene. Her comments underscore “the gamification of everything,” across the industry, when Novig wants to focus on its bread-and-butter: Event contracts on sports.

“There is someone sitting in a bathroom stall betting their 401(k) on a war,” she sighed.

“And then there are people who just trade on sports…Novig is just sports.”

Mitigating insider trading

According to Novig, the expanded partnership builds on the company’s broader commitment to responsible trading. Novig’s, whose platform is 21+, has codified responsible trading standards into its exchange rulebook, establishing requirements across numerous areas, including: monitoring and detection, participant protections and governance, according to the company.

ProhiTrade, IC360’s flagship prohibited bettor technology, allows Novig to check its customer base against a secure and encrypted list of covered persons, including athletes, coaches, officials and other stakeholders who are restricted from trading on specific markets. Through the solution, Novig can prevent covered persons with access to insider information or the ability to manipulate market outcomes from trading on restricted event contracts.

“Sports markets only work if people trust them,” said Jacob Fortinsky, a co-founder and CEO of Novig. “That means keeping people with inside information from trading, giving users more control over their trading activity, and making clear that people who threaten or harass athletes shouldn’t be able to trade on our platform. The partnership with IC360 helps us address each area and build stronger protections into how Novig operates.”

Among the new protocols at official NBA sportsbooks, operators have agreed to not offer props on reserve players who are expected to receive fewer than 12 minutes of playing time per game. Although the policies will be implemented among participating sportsbooks, there are no restrictions on prediction markets.

Upcoming trials

Over the next six months, several former NBA players are scheduled to stand trial in a sweeping illegal gambling case. Former Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier is accused of passing material non-public information to a syndicate, on his plans to leave a game early. Rozier disseminated the information to secure the outcome of a series of props on his statistical performance, prosecutors allege.

Jury selection for Rozier’s trial is scheduled to begin in February, a month before another trial is scheduled in an illegal poker matter. Chauncey Billups, a former Detroit Pistons guard and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, is facing charges on money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy.

Last October, Rozier and Billups were among three dozen defendants arrested in a joint investigation by the FBI, the New York Police Department and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Rozier, who has pleaded not guilty, filed a motion this year to dismiss the charges. In 2024, IC360 spotted irregular betting patterns that led to several prominent sports wagering scandals, including the Rozier one.

Billups is accused of serving on a team of poker players, which allegedly used illegal X-ray devices and other surreptitious means, to cheat against unsuspecting opponents. He also matches the description of a co-conspirator in the sports betting case that informed a defendant of a plot by the Trail Blazers to tank a game in 2023.

Billups, through his attorneys, has vehemently denied the accusations. The Blazers have placed Billups on unpaid leave from the team.