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OAKLAND PARK, Fla (Gambling911.com) - Days after Sydney Sweeney appeared in provocative poses appearing to be entirely nude for a prediction market video advertisement, a number of female athletes have expressed outrage.
NoVig first announced Sweeney as its new spokesperson last week.
The campaign, for US sports-prediction market Novig, is “very damaging” for female athletes and young girls looking to get into sport, Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer told CNN in an interview Monday.
“Just absolute utter disbelief, incredibly disappointing, like, how far you can put women’s sports backwards in the space of a 42-second commercial,” she said to CNN, adding that the campaign “is very damaging, especially for young females getting into sport, for females in sport, for females in general, just hypersexualized content.”
“We want to be valued for what we can do, not what we look like,” Palmateer added.
Confirmed: Sydney Sweeney knows ball. pic.twitter.com/EXQ4PzVZsi
— Novig (@Novig) September 9, 2026
Australian four-time Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus also expressed concern.
“I wasn’t going to share this as I didn’t want to give this any more attention. But I can’t keep my mouth shut,” she said, according to CNN affiliate 9News.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Titmus wrote.
“Not only is this a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is — teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity … the list goes on.”
And Australian swimmer Lani Pallister had this to say: “Don’t know what Sydney thinks sport looks like, but THIS is what sport looks like.”
Sweeney gained early recognition for her roles in Everything Sucks!, The Handmaid's Tale, and Sharp Objects in 2018.
She received wider acclaim for her performances in the drama series Euphoria (2019–2026) and the first season of the anthology series The White Lotus (2021), both of which earned her nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards.
NoVig is quickly making a name for itself in the fast growing prediction market space.
The company positions itself almost entirely as a sports-trading platform rather than a general-purpose prediction market.
Novig is a federally regulated sports prediction market. In June 2026, it received approval from the CFTC to operate as a Designated Contract Market (DCM), and its new federally regulated platform launched nationwide in August.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
