DraftKings Sued by MLB Players Union for Using Names, Images

Sports-betting platform DraftKings Inc. has been using names and images of Major League Baseball players without permission and in violation of Pennsylvania law, their union alleged in a lawsuit.

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

“Defendants’ use of player images within their sportsbook platforms is not merely informational — it is promotional,” the union’s lawyers 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 of DraftKings and Bet365 couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The suit comes as DraftKings expands its offerings. Last month, it acquired the website Simplebet Inc., which specializes in wagers placed during live sporting events. Simplebet, founded in 2018, provides pricing information on such wagers to other betting operators for games involving MLB, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

DraftKings, a US-based pioneer in online fantasy sports gaming, also is among the 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 seekers also includes MGM Resorts International and Hard Rock International, the casino operator owned by Florida’s Seminole tribe.

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

In the MLB suit, the union’s for-profit unit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and wants a judge to order the betting sites to stop using the players’ images. It’s also demanding “disgorgement of all profits associated with the use of MLB player images and likenesses in their sportsbook 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, US 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, US, on Monday, July 31, 2023. Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard /Bloomberg.