FanDuel is having a bit of a rough year when it comes to getting their sports betting operation off the ground. First, it was a computer glitch that printed incorrect odds on a future bet that ended up paying a customer huge odds. And now this. The latest snafu, which came to light yesterday, is a reflection of downright sloppiness by a sportsbook operator.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in New Jersey, bookmaker William Hill is accusing competitor FanDuel of copyright infringement in regard to a betting guide that is being distributed at the Meadowlands Racetrack sportsbook.
William Hill, which operates the sportsbooks at Monmouth Park racetrack and Ocean Resort Casino in New Jersey, is seeking damages and injunctive relief after discovering that FanDuel’s betting guide included identical wording from parts of the “How to Bet Guide” published by William Hill on June 5, 2018. FanDuel opened the sportsbook at the Meadowlands in mid-July, when it began offering the betting guide in question.
In a move that is not too uncommon with online websites borrowing from each others privacy policies, official rules, and codes of conduct, FanDuel was particularly sloppy in this latest stumble. It’s one thing to cut and paste and make changes. It’s another to copy and paste with no adjustments. And that’s exactly what FanDuel did.
The complaint highlights several specific sections of FanDuel’s guide that appear to be identical to William Hill’s, including a paragraph that reads, “Alternate & reverse run lines are propositional wagers offered by William Hill on each baseball game.” They not only copied the content, they forgot to remove the name!
“FanDuel’s unauthorized copying is perhaps most evident in the fact that FanDuel actually forgot to remove William Hill’s name when printing the Infringing Pamphlet,” the complaint alleges.
In its complaint, William Hill provided side-by-side looks at excerpts from its betting guide and what it says is copyrighted material being used by FanDuel. In addition, the complaint claims that language on websites controlled by FanDuel also is copied from William Hill, which cited eight articles as examples.
“We are not litigious people but this is ridiculous,” William Hill CEO Joe Asher said in a statement to ESPN. “If the court finds in our favor, a portion of the proceeds will fund scholarships for creative writing programs at New Jersey universities.”