Court Rules in Favour of DraftKings & FanDuel over College Athlete’s Name Use

Added: October 29, 2018

Daily sports fantasy giants, DraftKings and FanDuel, won the ruling over the use of college athlete’s statistics and names without the permission. The Indiana Supreme Court gave the verdict on Tuesday, deeming the information alleged to be used without consent of newsworthy value. Thus, no law was broken when the daily fantasy companies decided to use the information.

The Likeness of College Athletes by FanDuel Legal

FanDuel and DraftKings received a lawsuit filed by three ex college football players over the use of their (and by extension other college athletes) names and stats on their platforms without due consent. The players believed they had grounds to pursue the case as Indiana law states that the use of a name or likeness without permission constitutes an illegal practice. In a turn of event, five judges that preside on the Indiana Supreme Court found that the case fell within one of the exceptions to that law.

“We conclude that Indiana’s right of publicity statute contains an exception for material with newsworthy value that includes online fantasy sports operators’ use of college players’ names, pictures, and statistics for online fantasy contests,” said Judge Steven H. David.

The initial statute used to file the lawsuit was Indiana's Right of Publicity law which states that a company cannot use a person's name or likeness without their permission. In a unanimous ruling however, all five judges agreed that the both DFS sites did nothing wrong.

Case Still Undecided

This case is not over yet, as the plaintiff have had setbacks before but still managed to get their case heard by the Supreme Court. The initial lawsuit was filed in the Indiana state court and was escalated to the federal court. The former players can still pursue the case with an appeal to the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals, but it is unlikely that they may win. If big wins are what you looking for, find hundreds of casino games to play at any of our recommended casino sites in Australia below.