One of the sportsbook operators being sued by the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) is off the hook after reaching a settlement with the player’s group.
FanDuel has been dropped from a New York Supreme Court lawsuit in which the MLBPA has voluntarily dropped FanDuel from the suit, leaving Underdog as the only plaintiff in the case. Additionally, there is a federal court case in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where both DraftKings and bet365 are named as plaintiffs.
MLBPA filed the suit in September, alleging that all of the sportsbooks were illegally using photos of players both within their apps and as part of their social media promotion to encourage people to wager on baseball.
The MLBPA argued that, even though many of these sportsbooks have deals with the MLB, none of them received permission from the union to utilize player images.
The court case has dropped FanDuel as a defendant and a FanDuel spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Friday that the two groups have entered into a “confidential licensing agreement”. Per filings in the court case, FanDuel has now been dropped from the case with prejudice, so the issue cannot be litigated again at ta future date.
FanDuel is not the only sports betting group to reach a deal with the players union.
Last month, the MLBPA and Fanatics Sportsbook announced a deal naming Fanatics as a non-exclusive partner, enabling the operator to incorporate player images into the site. This is not the first time Fanatics has worked with the MLB, having served as a merchandise provider for the league in the past.
In the meantime, the lawsuit between DraftKings and another players union continues to move forward. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is still moving forward in its suit against the sportsbook, claiming DraftKings wrongfully terminated the rights agreement between the two for the company’s now-shuddered NFT products, NFT Marketplace and Reignmakers.
