In a recent ruling, the court found Bet365 guilty of breaching the rights of athletes by using their names and images on its social media channels. This occurred between 21 February 2019 and 11 March 2021. Despite Bet365’s argument that the use of these images and names should be considered as editorial content, the court disagreed and classified it as marketing.
The court awarded each athlete affected by this breach DKK50,000 per notice of remuneration and compensation according to the Marketing Act of Denmark. Among the athletes, Christian Eriksen, a renowned Danish football star currently playing for Manchester United in the English Premier League, was impacted the most. Bet365 featured his name or image on their social media posts 29 times during the mentioned period, leading to a compensation of DKK1.5m for Eriksen.
Other athletes affected by Bet365’s actions include Kasper Schmeichel, the Danish national team goalkeeper, who experienced 10 infringements of his rights. He was awarded DKK500,000 in compensation. Simon Kjær, the captain of the national football team, encountered six breaches and received a compensation package worth DKK350,000. Pernille Harder, a women’s football star, had seven instances of rights infringement and was granted DKK350,000 in compensation. Additionally, Danish football legend Peter Schmeichel, who now works as a pundit, saw his name and image used seven times, resulting in a compensation of DKK350,000.
Aside from compensating the athletes, the court also required Bet365 to cover the legal costs incurred by the Danish Players’ Association, Danish Elite Sports Athletes’ Association, and Danish Handball Players’ Association, amounting to DKK311,500.
