The case revolves around Entain suing 2 businesses in August 2025 for trademark and copyright infringement, years after they started teaching bettors how to profit from operator bonuses. The ruling, delivered by Justice Cawson, stated that Entain can’t move forward with the copyright claims unless the company urgently amends its pleadings to properly show how it owns the brands in question.
A spokesperson from Entain shared with NEXT.io:
“Entain does not comment on active litigation. However, as we have previously said, the matched betting business model is a parasitic one, and we take the protection of our brands and reputation extremely seriously. We have strong grounds for our claim and remain confident in it.”
On the other hand, the defendants had argued that the claims should be rejected because Entain failed to name the authors behind the material, say when it was published, or explain what made each piece original, pointing out that a lot of it was created by outside agencies. The judge agreed with the position, further stating that the betting company’s argument that long-term and unchallenged use of the brands was enough to establish ownership was unsuccessful.
Judge Cawson stated:
“I do not consider that it can be appropriate for claimants, as late in the day as the case management conference in a case and after the proceedings have been on foot for some 11 months or so, to say that they are in the process of obtaining the requisite assignments without explaining why this could not have been done before now.”
Entain’s trademark claims are still in place; however, if the operator wants to keep the copyright claims as well, then it must refile the case with all the necessary information included.
