Draftkings Sued by Micro-gaming Ventures for Patent Infringement

DraftKings is facing a patent infringement action from Texas-based in-play bet technology startup Micro-Gaming Ventures.

DraftKings is accused of violating five Micro-Gaming Ventures patents, including those pertaining to location-based and in-play betting, in the case, which was submitted to the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Because DraftKings is a well-known company in New Jersey, the state has personal jurisdiction over the company.

The complaint claims that the patents for Micro-Gaming Ventures date back to the early 2010s, when “no widely implemented technology was used to address wagering on specific micro-events or outcomes, nor location-based authorization for wagering.”

Read More: Swedish Gambling Authority Bans Three Businesses and Launches a Compliance Review

Micro-Gaming Ventures claims it “has been harmed by DraftKings’s infringing activities” in each of the five cases. By creating, utilizing, selling, importing, and/or allowing the use of a website and mobile application known as “DraftKings Sportsbook,” which is an online sportsbook platform, it alleges that DraftKings “has and continues to directly infringe” on each of the five patents.

Micro-Gaming Ventures has consequently demanded a jury trial for the five violations. If the action is successful, Micro-Gaming Ventures has demanded an adjudication that DraftKings did in fact violate its copyright and that DraftKings pay damages to make up for past and future infringement, albeit no precise payout has been disclosed.

In other recent developments, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and CFO Alan Ellingson discussed a variety of subjects, including the developing predictions market, after the company’s Q1 earnings announcement. Even though it is still in its infancy, they said, “this is happening whether you want it to or not” and that it is a hot issue in the business.

Courtesy: https://igamingexpert.com/, https://www.igbnorthamerica.com/