Earlier this week MLB Players, Inc., the professional baseball players union, filed two separate lawsuit against four sportsbooks alleging that the operators used images of players without their permission. The lawsuits cover images that were used to promote both sports betting and fantasy products across several states. If successful, the lawsuits could drastically change how sportsbooks promote and present proposition bets to their players.
The lawsuits were filed in two different jurisdictions, though are very similar in their arguments. A filing lodged with the Eastern Pennsylvania District Court, specifically calls out DraftKings and bet365. as the plaintiffs. The second lawsuit, which was filed with the New York Supreme Court names FanDuel and Underdog as the defendant.
Though filed in different jurisdictions, both of the lawsuits make arguments that are nearly identical. They allege that the operators are using player images across a number of their products without an agreement allowing them to do so. While some of the operators do have licensing agreements with the named sportsbooks to promote certain products, such as NFTs, the players argue that even those agreements don’t cover the uses named in the lawsuit, namely the promotion of prop bets.
“Defendants’ use of player images within their sportsbook platforms is not merely informational — it is promotional. Users could bet that the Phillies will beat the Marlins, or that Bryce Harper will hit more than two home runs in a given game, without seeing Harper’s valuable image. Indeed, both DraftKings and bet365 offer the same types of bets in other sports without using player images,” the players’ attorneys argue in statements reported on by CBS News.
So far there’s been no response from the sportsbooks named in the filings, but industry players will certainly be keeping a close on this case as it evolves.