Novig Eliminates American Odds in Effort to Lift ‘Financial Market’ Appeal

Novig is waving good-bye to American odds on its sports prediction market, scrapping the -110 lines bettors in this country are accustomed to seeing in favor of percentages. A Novig Logo. The prediction market ditched American odds for percentages. (Image: Google Play) Co-founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky announced the move in a social media post earlier today, noting the company introduced an odds calculator to smooth bettors’ and traders’ transition to percentages from the American-style odds that are prevalent on domestic sportsbooks. Under American odds, most lined games (there are plenty of exceptions) are -110 on the favorite (bet $110 to win $100) and +110 (bet $100 to win $110). On Novig, -110 American odds convert to a percentage of 52.4%, but a bettor or trader that pays $110 for an event contract on the platform and wins still garners a total payout of $210 ($110 for bet and $100 in winnings). An image of how percentages equate to American odds and payout on Novig. (Image: Novig Odds Calulator) Novig’s decision to move to percentages over American odds arrives several weeks after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — prediction markets’ federal regulator — told all-or-nothing exchanges to halt usage of American odds as a price quoting methodology for sports derivatives. Financial Market Feel While American odds are the bedrock of traditional sports wagering in the U.S., percentages are the math on which global financial markets, including cryptocurrency, equities and fixed income, turn. Fortinsky highlighted the importance of percentages in his X post. “While percentages may not be native for sports fans today, moving away from sportsbook-style odds is another step toward building a product that looks like what it is: a financial market,” observed the Novig boss. Novig started as a sports-focused peer-to-peer exchange, so pricing odds in percentages isn’t a heavy lift for the operator. After all, traditional financial markets quote gains and losses for scores of asset classes in percentages. Established incumbents in the prediction market industry have long used percentages across various event contracts and it could prove to be a methodology that helps the industry better cater to institutional investors and professional traders — market participants who do everything in percentages and nothing in American odds. Novig Was Already Making Waves The move to percentages away from American odds isn’t the only example of Novig making a splash as of late. Earlier this month, the company rolled out its sports prediction market on a nationwide basis and in short order, is rapidly proving itself to be a formidable competitor in the fast-growing prediction market arena. As Casino.org reported earlier this week, average daily volume on Novig’s sports-first exchange is already surpassing some established, well-known competitors, such as DraftKings’ DKeX, Rothera and Underdog. With college football kicking off this weekend, Fortinsky recently said in an interview that privately held Novig is planning to be more aggressive when it comes to boosting brand awareness and customer acquisition. The post Novig Eliminates American Odds in Effort to Lift ‘Financial Market’ Appeal appeared first on Casino.org.