Sports betting providers DraftKings Inc DKNG is facing a lawsuit from the Major League Baseball Players Union, a move that could dampen high expectations for other sports like the NFL, which just opened its season.

What happened: The Major League Baseball (MLB) players union has filed a lawsuit against DraftKings and Bet365 for the unauthorized use of names and images of MLB players.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Philadelphia, accuses DraftKings of violating Pennsylvania state law, Bloomberg reported.

Both bookmakers allegedly used images of MLB players in their marketing campaigns, the report said.

Benzinga reached out to DraftKings for comment and did not receive a response.

Pennsylvania is home to two MLB teams: Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies.

Also read: Danny Jansen makes history on Monday by playing for both teams in the same MLB game: Here’s the unique story

Why it is important: In Monday’s lawsuit, the players’ union is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The suit also demands that DraftKings stop using the names and images on the platform.

The players’ union is demanding that profits from the use of MLB players’ images be taken away from bookmakers and given to players.

“The defendants’ use of player images on their sports betting platforms serves not only informational purposes, but also advertising purposes,” the players’ union’s lawyers said on Monday.

The lawsuit states that both DraftKings and Bet365 offer bets on players in other sports without using images of the players.

“Users could bet that the Phillies would beat the Marlins or that Bryce Harper would hit more than two home runs in a given game without seeing Harper’s valuable image.”

Monday’s lawsuit could have major implications for the way players are listed in sportsbooks and how player props are marketed to users.

DKNG price promotion: DraftKings shares closed up 1.16% at $38.24 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $25.74 to $49.57. DraftKings shares are up 13.9% year-to-date for 2024.

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