Novig Ends American-Style Odds, Shifts Toward Percentages

Novig, a fast-growing sports trading platform designed with the sports fan in mind, has announced a major change to its business, dropping American sportsbook-style odds in favor of a financial market model using percentage-based probabilities. The company’s leadership said that its team will do everything in its power to make the transition as smooth as possible. Novig Unveils a Major Change The announcement was made by Novig’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Jacob Fortinsky, who confirmed the shift via a post on X. Fortinsky informed Novig users that his company has decided to no longer offer standard 110-line odds. The CEO explained that Novig will now offer financial-style probabilities instead in order to build a product that better reflects the financial market nature of the company. Fortinsky promised Novig users that the shift will be as smooth as possible, even for those who are not used to percentage-based odds. To that end, his team has launched an official Novig Odds Calculator tool where users can convert percentages into odds and vice versa. 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. We are committed to making the transition seamless for our members. If you’re used to American odds, our team built a tool to help make the switch. Jacob Fortinsky, co-founder & CEO, Novig Comparing the Two Models For reference, the usual American-style sports betting odds use an odds model based on 110 lines. Per these odds, outcomes with -110 odds are the favorite and outcomes with odds of +110 are the least likely to happen. Under this model betting $110 on the favorite results in $100 in winnings on top of the bet, while betting $100 on the underdog results in $110 in winnings (for a total payout of $210 in both cases). Per the Novig’s official Odds Calculator tool, odds of -110 are equivalent to a percentage of 52.4%. However, the math remains the same, meaning that a player who wagers $110 on an outcome with such odds will win $100 and take home a total payout of $210. Conversely, odds of +110 turn into a percentage of 47.6% and bets of $100 turn into payouts of $210. While the change might seem alien to longtime bettors, it would ultimately align Novig to the model employed by global financial markets. In any case, the move would also comply with the recent directives of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the prediction markets governing body, which just told prediction markets and similar exchanges to stop using American odds. In other news, Novig recently initiated a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin in an attempt to stop it from enforcing gambling laws against its sports prediction market.