The Major League Baseball Players Union has filed a lawsuit against FanDuel, DraftKings, and two others regarding their use of players’ images and likenesses without their consent.
Pay to Play
FanDuel, DraftKings, bet365, and Underdog Fantasy have all been named in a lawsuit filed by the Major League Baseball Players Union in a Manhattan state court. The suit alleges the quartet used hundreds of players’ images without their knowledge or consent on their mobile apps and websites. Those affected are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“For professional athletes, the ability to control the commercial use of their names, images, and likenesses is a crucial return on their substantial career investment,” the players said.
The legal action also contends that those images on a gambling website could be construed as a tacit endorsement of that site from those players. It also states that players’ images and likenesses should not be used without their full knowledge and consent, otherwise, any commercial entity could do the same in businesses that the players disavow.
The lawsuits filed earlier this week object to how player images and likenesses are being used in connection with bets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), without proper compensation to the players. The MLB players argue that their likenesses aren’t essential for betting, as bettors primarily rely on statistical data rather than visual images of the players that appear on the sports betting apps and websites.
This follows a similar lawsuit by NFL players regarding their likenesses, with the plaintiffs being represented by the same law firm. The MLB players claim that they are being treated differently than NFL players, possibly to enhance the appeal of baseball on betting platforms. They suggest that the distinction is being made solely to attract more consumers, not because the use of their likenesses is necessary for betting activities.
Gambling Is Big Business
More and more states are jumping aboard the sports betting gravy train and are reaping the benefits through tax levies on sportsbook revenues operating within the boundaries of their respective states. However, mobile sports betting is only one facet of America’s gaming industry as the commercial casino sector is also vibrant as well.
The American Gaming Association recently reported this year’s second quarter boasted the highest Q2 earnings on record. It was the 14th consecutive quarter of annual revenue growth.
“While sports betting and iGaming continued to drive overall industry revenue growth in the second quarter, new brick-and-mortar property openings in Illinois, Nebraska, and Virginia also led to rising traditional commercial gaming revenue,” AGA Vice President of Research David Forman said. “Across the country, land-based gaming markets are seeing mixed year-over-year comparisons due to slower consumer spending economy-wide, which may continue to be a factor through the remainder of 2024.”
It should also be noted that iGaming grossed $1.97 billion in the second quarter of 2024, which was over a 25% increase from last year, yet, a slight decrease of 0.7% from the first quarter. Sports betting delivered $3.16 billion in revenue in Q2, which was up a stunning 35.3% from 2023. However, much of that revenue growth can be attributed to new markets that were not present in last year’s second quarter like newcomers Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, and Vermont.
