William Hill US sues FanDuel for duping its sports betting guide

Bookmaker William Hill’s US division has sued rival bookie FanDuel for the wholesale theft of Hills’ betting guide for novice US sports bettors.

On Tuesday, William Hill US filed a civil suit in New Jersey federal court accusing FanDuel of copyright infringement. Specifically, FanDuel stands accused of replicating a ‘How To Bet Guide’ Hills developed to educate novice New Jersey bettors ahead of the state’s launch of legal wagering in June.

The lawsuit notes that FanDuel issued its own (ahem) ‘How To Bet Betting Guide’ ahead of its launch of a sportsbook at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack in July. This guide was distributed in the form of a printed pamphlet and also appeared online via FanDuel’s New Jersey sports betting website.

The lawsuit contains numerous examples of the FanDuel guide’s wholesale duplication of large bodies of text in the Hills guide, including specific wagering examples in which the same teams, scores and odds match to a T.