Daily fantasy sports operators win Indiana players legal action

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled earlier this week against three former college football players who said daily fantasy sports companies violated their right of publicity by using their names and statistics without consent…and a cut of the action.

Legal experts characterised the ruling as a major reverse for professional sports players seeking to profit from the liberalisation of sports betting on a state by state basis in the United States.

Daniel Wallach, a sports and gaming lawyer, said:  “It’s a big victory not only for DraftKings and FanDuel. But looking ahead as sports betting becomes more prominent, the question over player compensation for in-game wagering is going to be front and center very soon.”

The case against the DFS companies was filed by former Indiana University football player Nick Stoner and two former players from Northern Illinois University. The court rejected their claim, ruling that information used in fantasy sports games is “material that has newsworthy value” that trumps the right of publicity in Indiana law.

The court said fantasy sports’ use of names and statistics “bears resemblance” to information routinely published in newspapers and on websites.

“This information is not stripped of its newsworthy value simply because it is placed behind a paywall or used in the context of a fantasy sports game,” the court wrote. “On the contrary, fantasy sports operators use factual data combined with a significant, creative component that allows consumers to interact with the data in a unique way.”

The court held that although fantasy sports involves assigning fictional “salary” figures to players, “It is difficult to find that the use of this otherwise publicly available information is somehow drastically different such that it should be placed outside the definition of ‘newsworthy.'”

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