SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
William Hill US has opened legal proceedings against competing sportsbook operator FanDuel, over alleged copyright infringement relating to a betting guide at the Meadowlands racetrack.
The civil complaint filed by William Hill has outlined that the ‘How to Bet Guide’ distributed by FanDuel was identical to the Hill’s guide.
One of the key passages in FanDuel’s guide features the wording “Alternate & reverse run lines are propositional wagers offered by William Hill on each baseball game.” Hill’s complaint also underlines the whole blocks of text contained in its guide that feature verbatim within the FanDuel version. A different typeface was used in FanDuel’s guide.
William Hill CEO Joe Asher commented: “We are not litigious people, but this is ridiculous. If the court finds in our favor, a portion of the proceeds will fund scholarships for creative writing programs at New Jersey universities.”
In addition to what William Hill claims to be lifted text, the FanDuel guide also allegedly contains diagrams illustrating betting and odds possibilities that appear identical to Hill’s version.
The copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed with the US District Court in New Jersey. It seeks unspecified damages against FanDuel. Those damages are to include any profits that the firm made from its guide.
