William Hill Suing Paddy Power Betfair’s FanDuel
William Hill is suing FanDuel over what the bookmaker claims is “copyright infringement.” The legal action surrounds the New Jersey operations of racetracks where the UK based bookmaker has sportsbetting at Monmouth Park racetrack and Ocean Resort Casino and FanDuel at Meadowlands Racetrack.
The bookmaker says that it is seeking damages and an injunction regarding FanDuels betting guide that seems to copy large parts of the William Hill betting guide.
Specifically, William Hill says that FanDuel copied the entire section of “How to Bet Guide” which was originally published by the UK bookmaker on June 5, 2018, but in July 2018 FanDuel opened their sportsbook at Meadowland with the guide that appears to contain text from the William Hill guide.
There are other sections William Hill say are from their guide such as “Alternate & reverse run lines are propositional wagers offered by William Hill on each baseball game.” In fact William Hill say when FanDuel copied their text they even forgot to remove the “infringement notice along with the William Hill name!
“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.”
FanDuel is owned by Paddy Power Betfair, so far Fanduel has declined to comment on the legal action by William Hill.
