Novig files CFTC DCM application as Ludlow Exchange LLC

Update, October 17, 2026: The CFTC approved the application. It designated Ludlow Exchange a contract market on June 16, 2026 (Novig). On August 4, 2026, Novig replaced its sweepstakes app with the regulated exchange and set a minimum age of 21 (RotoWire). Our Novig review covers the platform as it runs today. The story below is as published in January, with facts corrected.

Novig has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to run a federally regulated exchange. The application, filed in late January 2026 under the name Ludlow Exchange LLC, appeared in the CFTC's filings portal as a pending designated contract market (DCM) (DeFi Rate, January 26, 2026).

Novig runs a peer-to-peer sports exchange on the sweepstakes model. A DCM designation would let it list event contracts under CFTC oversight and take real-money trades instead of sweepstakes currency.

What the filing says

The application materials list Novig as Ludlow's holding company. Novig's co-founder and chief executive signed the Form DCM and is named as Ludlow's chief executive. The filing describes:

$1 contracts, priced in dollars and cents.
Binary yes-or-no contracts and multi-outcome "combination contracts."
Full collateral. No margin and no borrowing.
An internal Outcome Review Committee to decide how markets settle.

Ludlow is not seeking registration as a clearinghouse and has not named a clearing partner. The filing does not list the first contract categories, though Novig's business is sports. Two other sports-focused applicants, ProphetX and RSBIX, are also pending.

Why use a separate entity

Exchanges commonly keep the regulated entity apart from the consumer brand. Kalshi's exchange is KalshiEX LLC. Polymarket reached US customers through QCX, an exchange it bought in July 2025 and that the CFTC cleared for its use with an amended order in November 2025 (Covers).

Novig chose to apply from scratch instead of buying an existing exchange. That route is slower, but the company gets to write its own rulebook.

What a designation would change

Dollars instead of sweepstakes currency. Users would trade contracts with real money.
A federal licence. CFTC-regulated exchanges argue that federal law overrides state gambling rules. Several states dispute that for sports contracts, and courts have split on it. See our guide to whether prediction markets are legal.
More contract types, including the combination contracts described in the filing.

What to watch

The CFTC sets no fixed timetable for DCM applications. Novig had not said when it expected a decision or how existing sweepstakes accounts would move to the new exchange.

As it turned out, the designation came on June 16, 2026, about six months after the filing, and the regulated exchange launched on August 4.