College athletics governing body wants a restraining order in place before Sweet 16 next week, seeks triple damages
(UPDATE 3/21 11:50 am ET) – This article has been updated to include DraftKings’ statement.
As the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament entered its second day, the governing body overseeing college athletics filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday against DraftKings, claiming the Boston-based company used March Madness and other registered NCAA trademarks without permission on its sports betting app.
In the 37-page complaint submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in Indianapolis, the NCAA, which is based in the Indiana state capital, said DraftKings removed only some references when initially asked.
Every day that DraftKings is permitted to continue its unlawful use of the NCAA Basketball Marks and confusingly similar variations on its gambling platform undermines the NCAA’s longstanding anti‑gambling stances, erodes public trust, and inflicts continuing and irreparable harm on the NCAA’s reputation and the goodwill symbolized by its famous marks,” the filing states.
The NCAA seeks a temporary restraining order against DraftKings that would take effect before the start of the Sweet 16, the regional semifinals. The men’s Sweet 16 starts next Thursday, while the women’s games start the following day.
Beyond that, the NCAA also seeks financial compensation from DraftKings. That includes covering the NCAA’s attorneys’ fees and either triple the damages the governing body suffered or three times the profits DraftKings made.
DraftKings Use Distorts NCAA’s Efforts Against Gambling
The annual three-week tournament, also known as March Madness in recognition of the upsets and dramatic finishes, attracts millions of viewers each year. It’s also one of the biggest sports betting events in the U.S. Last week, the American Gaming Association predicted Americans would wager more than $3 billion on this year’s tourneys through legal sportsbooks.
In addition to using the trademarks without permission, the NCAA also accused DraftKings of using “confusingly similar variations” of the association’s protected intellectual property. One such example, according to the NCAA, is DraftKings’ “March Mania” survivor contest.
March Mania and March Madness not only share the same first word, but mania and madness have similar definitions.
The NCAA joined ranks with North America’s four major professional sports leagues more than a decade ago to stop New Jersey from legalizing and regulating sports betting. In the years since the Supreme Court ruled in New Jersey’s favor, allowing 40 states to offer sports betting, the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB all have changed their views on wagering and have entered into partnerships with DraftKings and other licensed operators.
The NCAA has not entered into any partnerships with sportsbooks. Instead, the association has called on states to ban several types of wagers on college games, including player-specific prop bets.
When consumers encounter the NCAA Basketball Marks in connection with gambling services, they are likely to perceive an affiliation between the NCAA and the gambling industry, thereby distorting the NCAA’s identity and undermining decades of deliberate efforts to promote policies, programs, and public messaging designed to separate collegiate athletics from commercial gambling,” the complaint states.
Last April, the NCAA extended its partnership with Genius Sports, making the London-based sports technology company the exclusive postseason data provider to sportsbooks through 2032. That deal includes the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and the use of the NCAA’s marks and logos.
DraftKings Cites Fair Use
In a statement issued Saturday morning, DraftKings said their use of the term March Madness and other phrases falls within the fair use standard.
DraftKings does not use the term March Madness as a trademark, but rather uses it in plain text and as a fair use in the same manner that other tournaments are displayed, such as the NIT, in order to accurately identify the different tournaments and their respective games,” a DraftKings spokesperson said. “This is protected speech under the First Amendment and is not a violation of any brand’s trademark. We are confident that the courts will deny this request for an injunction.”
As of Saturday morning, DraftKings still had March Madness as a menu option on the home page of its sports betting app. However, DraftKings was not the only sportsbook using the NCAA trademark. BetMGM also used the term.
FanDuel’s home page featured a menu option for March Madness on Friday, but that had changed to NCAAB by Saturday.
A message to an NCAA spokesperson was not immediately returned.
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