Novig and New Mexico officials want to pause their federal court battle over sports event contracts until August 2027, giving another case time to address a legal issue at the heart of their dispute.
Ludlow Exchange LLC, which operates as Novig, joined the New Mexico defendants in asking the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico on Tuesday (August 25) to stay proceedings through August 13, 2027. Novig sued Attorney General Raul Torrez and New Mexico Gaming Control Board members on August 6 for declaratory and injunctive relief.
The filing, seen by ReadWrite, came after discussions on August 17 and August 20. Novig said it planned to seek a preliminary injunction unless both sides could arrange a temporary pause.
A separate Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit against New Mexico is driving that request. The CFTC sued on June 12 and sought a preliminary injunction six days afterward. Injunction briefing finished July 30, followed by briefing on the defendants’ dismissal motion on August 7.
CFTC lawsuit puts Novig dispute with New Mexico and Massachusetts on hold
Both sides expect the CFTC litigation to address federal preemption, which also sits at the center of Novig’s case. They said a stay “would promote judicial economy and limit duplicative litigation.”
New Mexico would also hold off on specified enforcement during the pause. Officials said they “will not initiate, pursue, or maintain any civil or criminal enforcement action” over Novig listing sports-related event contracts on its designated contract market until at least 14 days after the stay finishes.
By July 30, 2027, both sides would tell the court whether the pause should continue. Once it ends, they would have 14 days to suggest a briefing schedule, while state officials would get 60 days to respond to Novig’s complaint.
Novig will voluntarily dismiss the Gaming Control Board defendants without prejudice. Those officials likewise agreed not to pursue Novig separately from the attorney general before the stay expires.
The parties stressed that the arrangement “does not resolve any claim or defense asserted in this action,” leaving their broader legal positions intact.
Novig’s New Mexico suit is part of a wider federal campaign launched after its approval as a CFTC Designated Contract Market. The company filed cases against New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Washington, arguing its sports event contracts are federally regulated derivatives rather than state-regulated sports wagers.
In Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Campbell has said “any company that wants to be in the sports gaming business in Massachusetts must play by our rules.” Novig argues federal law overrides those requirements.
The Massachusetts case is now paused too. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV granted a joint stay on Aug. 24 while KalshiEX LLC exhausts state appellate rights involving a preliminary injunction obtained by the Massachusetts Attorney General. The order also gave defendants 60 days after the stay to respond and dismissed several defendants without prejudice.
New York, meanwhile, opposed Novig’s emergency request, arguing that “Plaintiff’s failure to provide notice therefore amounts to an attempt to obtain an ex parte TRO … and should not be entertained by this Court.”
Featured image: Novig / Canva
The post Novig and New Mexico seek yearlong pause in prediction market lawsuit appeared first on ReadWrite.