William Hill US is set to be locked in a legal tussle with competing sportsbook operator FanDuel over alleged copyright infringement relating to a betting guide made available at the Meadowlands racetrack. The civil complaint filed by William Hill cites content in the guide that includes what appears to be identical wording to its own How to Bet Guide published earlier this year.
One of the key passages in FanDuel’s guide features the wording “Alternate & reverse run lines are propositional wagers offered by William Hill on each baseball game.” Hill’s complaint also includes whole blocks of text contained in its guide that feature verbatim within the FanDuel version. A different typeface was used in FanDuel’s guide.
Media approaches have yielded a ‘no comment’ response from FanDuel, however William Hill has been more forthcoming. In a statement to the press, CEO Joe Asher said: “We are not litigious people, but this is ridiculous. If the court finds in our favor, a portion of the proceeds will fund scholarships for creative writing programs at New Jersey universities.”
In addition to what William Hill claims to be lifted text, the FanDuel guide also allegedly contains diagrams illustrating betting and odds possibilities that appear identical to Hill’s version.
The copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed with the US District Court in New Jersey. It seeks unspecified damages against FanDuel. Those damages are to include any profits that the firm made from its guide.
