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Brazilian football players have received temporary court orders preventing betting operators from using their names and images in personalized betting markets. This case involves athletes playing for clubs participating in Brazil’s Série B and Série D and presents a new legal dispute regarding the use of players’ identities for commercial purposes in sports betting.
Based on the information provided in reports, the court orders will benefit Atlético-GO forward Guilherme Marques, América–MG forward Gabriel Barros, Botafogo–SP defender Gustavo Vilar, and Pouso Alegre striker Ricardo Bueno, a former Palmeiras player. The operators named in the lawsuits include Verabet, Cassino BET, bet365, and Betano. The court order issued to these companies is preliminary and can be changed during further proceedings. Still, this is an essential step in the relationship between athletes and betting operators.
This lawsuit is coordinated by RA LAW law firm and based on the arguments made by Marcelo Robalinho, a lawyer and sports entrepreneur. Robalinho also owns the athlete management agency ThinkBall.
Dispute Is Related to Personalized Betting Market
It is important to note that this dispute does not affect traditional betting markets where the results of the game are bet on. Instead, the athletes claim that operators offer markets where their names and achievements are used for the purpose of betting on the specific performance of each player during the game.
Usually, personalized betting markets include bets on the goal, card, and number of fouls made by the player.
According to the lawyers of athletes, these products use players’ identities and sporting performances without obtaining prior approval. This means that these athletes become the main element of betting products instead of simply participating in sports games.
Athlete Safety and Image Rights as Arguments in Dispute
Apart from the question of image rights, this legal dispute touches upon the issue of athlete safety and integrity. In his comments to the lawsuits, Robalinho mentioned that individualized betting markets could make athletes more vulnerable to threats and harassment from bettors disappointed with sports results.
Robalinho said that some athletes already received threats from people who were angry because of missed penalties or goalscoring opportunities or other game situations that led to losing money for bettors.
He also compared the situation with video games in which the use of players’ names, images, and personal characteristics usually requires some form of license. As far as the legal representative of athletes is concerned, personalized betting markets are similar.
Apart from seeking compensation for unauthorized commercial use of their identity and names, the lawsuits also call to remove players’ names and images from betting platforms. As the lawyers of players emphasized, the main aim is to protect image rights of athletes and prevent them from any association with the betting product without their prior approval.
As Robalinho explained: “There are constant complaints from athletes regarding being associated with sports betting. This is dangerous. It is a market that some people approve and some people do not; it has its negative aspects. The athlete may become dependent on things outside his or her control, which will cause immense harm to their image.”
Betano Claims About the Presence of Compensation Mechanism in the Law
Betano responded to the court order received due to a lawsuit filed against Ricardo Bueno. The operator, represented by Kaizen Gaming company, claimed that the fixed-odds betting law of Brazil already established the compensation mechanisms for the use of sports assets.
According to Kaizen Gaming, this law requires betting operators to give a part of their income to organizations included in Brazil’s National Sports System (Sinesp) in return for the use of names, images, trademarks, emblems, and other things related to the sports competition.
Kaizen Gaming also claims that it is necessary to differentiate between the unauthorized use of an individual’s image and the simple referencing of facts and sports events.
As these cases move forward, they will probably influence the legal borders of the use of athletes’ identities in personalized betting markets.
Source: SBC Noticias
