Entain slammed the “parasitic” matched betting business model in comments given to NEXT.io, as it looks to the courts for a solution.
The Ladbrokes operator said the UK’s largest matched betting business, which operates the Outplayed and OddsMonkey brands, is infringing its trademarks and questioned whether it was encouraging irresponsible gambling practices.
It follows the Stella David-led business launching High Court legal proceedings against the provider’s Liquidity Trading Limited holding company last month, in the industry’s first major salvo against the matched betting sector.
Matched betting is a technique to profit off free bets and bonuses offered by gambling operators, with how-to services like Outplayed giving paying customers detailed instructions on the best ways to do this.
An Entain spokesperson told NEXT.io: “As a fully regulated and licensed operator, we dedicate significant energy and resources to player safety across all of our brands. We therefore take the protection of our brands very seriously and will always robustly safeguard them, our reputation, and our customers in all the markets within which we operate.
“Matched betting is unregulated, and the defendants promote the idea that gambling is a risk-free source of income. The match betting business model is a parasitic one. The defendant’s unauthorised use of our brands and copyright undermines our efforts to encourage and promote responsible gambling practices.”
Entain says brand use undermines RG efforts
NEXT.io understands the legal proceedings against Liquidity Trading, as well as Outplayed founder Samuel Stoffel, followed a letter sent to the business on 11 February.
In the letter, Entain set out its trademark complaints and requested a substantive response, with the matched betting company ultimately denying infringement. Its defence is due in October.
This was followed by a second letter on 30 July, which included a draft copy of Entain’s Particulars of Claim, the document in UK civil litigation which sets out the basis for the claimant’s case.
In the operator’s Particulars of Claim document, obtained by NEXT.io, it highlights the use, without permission, of its various brands.
These, which includes Coral, Ladbrokes, bwin, Gala and Foxy Bingo, are used across the matched betting business’ websites and marketing materials to sell their services to customers.
For example, users clicking on the Sportsbook Sign Up offers section of their dashboard will see a list of sportsbook offers, which includes branding from Coral and Ladbrokes.
The document also argued the marketing included socially irresponsible gambling messaging, such as by claiming matched betting is a fool-proof way to make cash.
Entain’s lawyers wrote: “The Claimants cannot and would never guarantee a profit at their expense, and matched betting is not risk-free.
“While often promoted online as a ‘guaranteed profit’ strategy, matched betting is linked to elevated gambling severity and harm, with many individuals reporting financial losses and psychological distress as a result, undermining the Claimants’ safer gambling credentials.”
Other issues with matched betting marketing
Industry sources told NEXT.io there have generally been concerns about the ways matched betting sites promote gambling as a risk-free source of income, target vulnerable individuals and use misleading advertising practices in breach of UK and Gibraltar advertising standards.
These concerns, they told NEXT.io, include how the encouragement of bonus abuse undermines fair play and the integrity of promotional offers.
Issues highlighted with the advertising included irresponsible messaging that suggested gambling can be the solution to financial hardship or a substitute for employment.
An OddsMonkey article advertising matched betting to women on maternity leave.
The lack of visible safer gambling messaging was also pointed to as a problem, with the company featuring a subscription model that allegedly offered limited refund options even in cases of self-exclusion.
Meanwhile, the company has been accused of targeting vulnerable groups, such as parents on maternity leave and younger audiences on social media.
Entain is seeking an injunction to stop the matched betting business infringing its brands, and the destruction of all current infringing material and financial damages, among other matters.