Alleging that FanDuel copied William Hill’s guide word-for-word

William Hill brings action against FanDuel over ‘how to bet’ guide

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages against FanDuel, including any profits it made by using the allegedly copied guide.
2018-10-24
Reading time 1:31 min
Bookmaker FanDuel is been sued by its sports betting rival for copyright infringement of ts “how to bet” guide for customers.

As reported by The Washington Post, sports betting firm William Hill instituted a copyright infringement proceeding Tuesday, in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. William Hill US alleges that FanDuel’s duplication of the guide was so blatant that it even used the same hypothetical examples of one pitcher facing another pitcher.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages against FanDuel, including any profits it made by using the allegedly copied guide.

It also is an example of how important the nascent U.S. market is to both companies, and how zealously competitors in the industry will fight to protect their brands and market share with legal sports betting in its infancy in America. Since it began in mid-June, sports betting has attracted over $336 million in bets in New Jersey.

"We are not litigious people, but this is ridiculous," said Joe Asher, the CEO of William Hill US. "If the court finds in our favor, a portion of the proceeds will fund scholarships for creative writing programs at New Jersey universities."

William Hill produced its guide in June when it began offering sports betting at Monmouth Park Racetrack. It also runs the sports book at Atlantic City’s Ocean Resort Casino.

The lawsuit claims FanDuel circulated a virtually identical guide at the Meadowlands Racetrack a month later.

Court documents outline numerous instances of entire blocks of text from the William Hill guide appearing verbatim in the FanDuel version, although in a different typeface.

The suit also claims FanDuel copied diagrams illustrating possible bets and odds. For instance, a chart involving a 1:05 p.m. baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies listing both starting pitchers and three different ways to bet on the game appeared identically in both publications, William Hill said.

The most telling instance involved a page in which FanDuel neglected to remove William Hill’s name from text it allegedly cut and pasted into its own guide, according to the lawsuit.

Similar infringement appeared in FanDuel’s web pages, the lawsuit alleges.

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