DraftKings sued by MLB Players Union over use of names, images

Sports betting platform DraftKings Inc. used names and images of Major League Baseball players without permission and in violation of Pennsylvania law, their union claimed in a lawsuit.

Boston-based DraftKings and another popular betting site — Bet365 — are hijacking images of hundreds of professional baseball players and using them in marketing campaigns, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Philadelphia. The city is home to the Philadelphia Phillies, who currently have more wins this season than any other MLB team.

“Defendants’ use of player images within their sports betting platforms is not merely informational, it is promotional,” attorneys for the union said in the complaint. “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.”

Representatives for DraftKings and Bet365 could not immediately be reached for comment.

The suit comes as DraftKings expands its offering. Last month, it acquired the website Simplebet Inc., which specializes in bets placed during live sports events. Simplebet, established in 2018, provides pricing information for such bets to other bookmakers for games involving MLB, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

DraftKings, a US-based pioneer in online fantasy sports gaming, is also among more than 130 companies that have pre-registered interest in obtaining a license to operate in Brazil, according to the country’s Finance Ministry. The list of license applicants also includes MGM Resorts International and Hard Rock International, the casino operator owned by the Seminole tribe in Florida.

Revenue expanded at DraftKings as it attracted more loyal bettors, even as it faced increased competition from online peers and legacy casinos. This forced the company to spend millions on advertising and gambling incentives.

In the MLB lawsuit, the union’s for-profit unit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and wants a judge to order the betting sites to stop using the players’ images. It also demands “the release of all profits associated with the use of MLB player images and likenesses in their sports betting platforms and the use of MLB names, images and likenesses in advertising and promotions for their platforms.”

The case is MLB Players v. DraftKings, 24-cv-04884, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia).

Top photo: The Draft Kings logo is displayed on a smartphone in Hastings on Hudson, New York, U.S., Monday, July 31, 2023. Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard /Bloomberg.

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