Prediction markets are deepening their foothold in Major League Baseball. On Thursday, Novig, an up-and-coming trading platform, announced a multi-year deal with the New York Mets to become the team’s exclusive prediction market partner.
The Mets are the first MLB team to strike such a deal, with Novig’s branding set to be integrated across the team’s ecosystem. Novig, which launched in January 2024, is backed by Pantera Capital and seeks to carve out a place in the fast-growing prediction market sector dominated by the likes of Polymarket, Kalshi, and Robinhood.
Novig declined to disclose additional deal terms, including the contract’s length and the sponsorship’s value.
MLB did not respond to questions about whether it plans a league‑wide prediction market designation or will keep agreements limited to individual teams.
Fans will see Novig signage throughout Citi Field, on the jumbotron, and during game broadcasts, a Novig spokesperson told Fortune. Mets fans will also have access to special contests, promotions, and digital content created specifically for this partnership.
Like other prediction markets, Novig’s arrangement with the Mets will entail a sports trading exchange rather than a traditional sportsbook. In a normal “house vs. player” setup, the book profits when customers lose; Novig instead matches fans against each other, with prices set by the market.
“Because our revenue comes from facilitating trading rather than betting against our customers, we don’t care who wins or loses. The result is a fairer system that doesn’t punish users for being successful,” a Novig spokesperson said.
Integrity safeguards
The Novig deal also comes with league‑level guardrails. Novig is designated an MLB Authorized Prediction Market, which means it has to participate in the league’s integrity program. Under that framework, it cannot list certain high‑risk markets, like bets on a single pitch, an individual umpire’s calls, or a one‑off managerial decision. Novig says those markets are especially sensitive because one person can swing the outcome without affecting the final score, creating a hard‑to‑detect opportunity for abuse.
MLB has already run into issues tied to gambling, including federal charges against two Cleveland Guardians pitchers in 2025 over allegedly rigged prop bets and leaked inside information, and a lifetime ban for Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano in 2024. Both events stemmed from traditional sports betting platforms.
The announcement follows an earlier one from the MLB, when in March, it designated Polymarket as the league’s official prediction market exchange, giving the platform exclusive rights to use MLB team names and logos inside its products. It also simultaneously announced a separate memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, laying out how the league and regulators will share information on potential integrity issues in baseball‑linked prediction markets.
It also fits into a broader wave of deals between prediction market platforms and sports organizations over the past two years. Partnerships now span U.S. leagues, individual teams, and even FIFA. Ahead of this year’s World Cup, ADI PredictStreet signed a multi‑year agreement with the association to become the tournament’s first official prediction market partner. In the U.S., leagues including the NHL, MLS, and UFC had already struck their own prediction market agreements before the MLB–Novig deal.
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