“Real Madrid versus Sports Betting Sites”

A recent case in French courts has drawn attention to the use of top sports team’s names and the names of players and personalities on sports betting sites. Brought by prominent Real Madrid players including David Beckham, Ronaldo and Luis Figo against several well-known bookmakers, the court case sets a precedent for future conflicts between sports betting sites and the stars.

Lawyers for the Real Madrid players based their case on the argument that the bookmakers – namely William Hill, Ladbrokes and Sportingbet – were cashing in on the fame of both players and club and benefiting commercially from using their names. The lawyers’ argument stipulated that the sports betting sites should be made to pay a license fee for the right to use team and player names on their sites. If the bookmakers disagreed, they should be legally forced to remove the names from their website.

Lawyers hired by the sports betting sites claimed that rather than benefiting from using the names for commercial purposes, the sports betting sites were in fact reporting factual events.

After hearing the case, the French courts found in favor of the sports betting sites. The decision has disappointed Real Madrid, which has not yet indicated whether it will continue to use legal means in order to contest the issue further. A loss in the French courts hardly encourages the club to engage in subsequent legal action, as French legislation is well known for its strict stance on privacy protection.

Clive Hawkswood of the Association of Remote Gambling Operators says that the decision in favor of the sports betting sites has set an important precedent. “We hope this is the end of the matter,” he said. “If the injunction had gone against us it would have encouraged every other footballer and sportsman to take similar action.”

Graham Sharpe of sports betting site William Hill expressed his satisfaction with the court’s decision. “We never believed that we had a case to answer in the first place,” Sharpe said.