bet365 to pay Eriksen and 22 others £550k for unauthorised images

Bet365 is to pay compensation to 23 Danish athletes for using their names and photos on social media without consent.

Denmark’s maritime and commercial court ruled on Monday that the operator now owes DKK 4.7m (around £550,000), with one of these athletes being Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen.

Reuters reported that the 31-year-old midfielder had his image used the most and therefore the verdict awarded him the largest sum of DKK 1.45m (around £169,600).

The gambling firm, however, put forward its argument that the names and images it used should be regarded as editorial content, which would mean it is not subject to payments under Danish law.

The court found instead that the images amounted to marketing which required consent from those in the pictures.

Other sports figures named as beneficiaries in the case include Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, footballer Simon Kjaer, and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who are all set to receive a portion from the owner of bet365, Hillside Plc.

Similarly, in March, bet365’s Malta-based operating company, Hillside New Media Malta (Hillside), was fined €400,000 by the Dutch Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

The company found itself to be the latest target of the KSA’s enforcement campaign against betting operators that have violated tightened Dutch laws around advertising.