William Hill US settles copyright lawsuit with FanDuel

William Hill US has reached a settlement with FanDuel over a copyright lawsuit against the US subsidiary of Paddy Power Betfair.

The bookmaker did not disclose the value of the agreement, but did state that it was not seeking any financial settlement to cover costs associated with the suit, according to a filing in the US District Court of New Jersey.

The bookmaker filed the original civil suit in October last year after accusing FanDuel of copying sections of its How To Bet Guide for novice punters in the US.

The lawsuit highlighted how a similar publication by FanDuel featured identical wording from the original guide.

This included a line that read: ‘Alternate & reverse lines are propositional wagers offered by William Hill on each baseball game’.

Paddy Power Betfair-owned FanDuel had distributed its guide at Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, where it operates a retail sportsbook, as well as running its online offering under the venue's licence. 

William Hill US CEO Joe Asher said: “We are going to use some of the proceeds to fund scholarships for creative writing programs at New Jersey universities and we are also going to donate to an organisation that supports people with gambling problems, a very important issue for us.”

Last month, FanDuel leapfrogged rival DraftKings to become the biggest winner in New Jersey’s sports betting market, taking in $9.1m (£7.1m/€8m) in revenue. Total sports wagering revenue for the state in December amounted to $94m.

Image: East Coast Gambler