Novig Sent Sweeney Back in a Hockey Jersey. Nobody Noticed.

After the 'Just Sports' ad ran Sydney Sweeney nude with sports equipment and drew 2.6 million YouTube views and a formal athlete protest movement, Novig released a second ad. It is 16 seconds long. Sweeney wears a Novig-branded hockey jersey and talks about responsible trading habits, setting limits, staying in control. Nobody wrote about it.

That contrast is the story of celebrity gambling marketing in 2026. TheLines.com reported the followup alongside the campaign's final scorecard, and the buried placement of one next to the other was not subtle.

The Numbers Novig Wants You to See

In the 20 days before and after the September 9 campaign launch, Novig says trading volume rose 94%, first-time depositors increased 218%, app downloads grew 187%, and monthly active users were up 96% month-over-month. Year-over-year, September active users were reportedly up 260%. Co-founder Jacob Fortinsky told TheLines.com he has 'nothing to apologize for' and the company will 'continue to embody that aggressive risk-taking culture.'

The 'Just Sports' ad is not the company's only headline number. Novig launched in August 2026 and recorded over $125 million in notional trading volume in its first week, per Yahoo Finance, outpacing the debut week of Kalshi, Polymarket US, and DraftKings' exchange in their respective launches.

What the Hockey Jersey Was For

The Asian Pacific Post documented what responsible gambling messaging is competing against: Ontario online gambling accounts lost an average of $283 per month during fiscal 2023-24. Emergency department visits for gambling disorders rose 31% after Ontario liberalized its market. Among males aged 10 to 29, the rate was 154% above expected levels. Ontario restricted celebrity endorsements in gambling advertising in 2024 specifically because of the reach those ads had with minors.

Novig restricts platform access to users 21 and older. The "Just Sports" ad was not restricted to that audience. A YouTube video is publicly accessible. The two facts occupy the same campaign.

The Gap Between Two Ads

Swimmer Ariarne Titmus called the nude ad a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft. British runner Amy Hunt went on Good Morning Britain: "Athletes want to show that it's about what your body can do, not what it looks like." Gracie Kramer's Instagram post drew 1.2 million likes. Those posts generated coverage. The 16-second hockey jersey ad did not.

That is the structure the industry builds on. The controversy goes viral, the responsible gambling message goes into the press kit, and the sequencing of those two things is not accidental. The responsible gambling spot is compliance armor: it exists so that when someone asks whether Novig takes gambling harm seriously, the company can point to it. It was never meant to match the cultural footprint of the ad it followed.

Fortinsky's 'nothing to apologize for' quote and the hockey jersey exist in the same campaign, and they are not contradictory. One is for shareholders, one is for regulators. Sweeney, as an equity partner in the company, was in both rooms for both decisions. That is not a criticism of her; it is a description of what an equity stake actually looks like in practice.

Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site with no affiliation with Novig, Sydney Sweeney, or any party named here. This piece draws on published sources listed below.

Novig Sent Sweeney Back in a Hockey Jersey. Nobody Noticed.

The Numbers Novig Wants You to See

What the Hockey Jersey Was For

The Gap Between Two Ads

Sources & further reading

Michael Douglas Breaks a 40-Year Lie: 'We Told the World'

Ohio Calls Kalshi 'a Pig': DeWine Will Enforce Gambling Law After Court Win

Novig's Numbers Are In: Sweeney Ad Drove 218% More First-Time Depositors