Major League Baseball Loses Fantasy Battle In Supreme Court

Fantasy sports won a major victory today in the highest court in the United States. The Supreme Court ruled against Major League Baseball in their appeal of an earlier ruling.

Major League Baseball and its players filed a lawsuit against Internet fantasy sports operators. The suit claimed that the Web operators did not have a right to use their players names and statistics without baseball's consent.

An earlier ruling denied the leagues claim, and ruled that it was a free speech right for these sites to use the information. Major League Baseball then appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Today, the justices ruled against Major League Baseball, a major victory for fantasy sports sites. The fantasy sports world is ever growing. Over 19 million people a year take part in these leagues with over $500 million in revenue generated.

Major League Baseball already are licensed by the major fantasy leagues. ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sportsline, and Yahoo are all licensed by baseball. They currently pay a fee for using player names.

The ruling is also a blow to the players who felt their names were being exploited. The Supreme Court ruling ensures that the names of famous athletes are in the public domain, and are therefore available for use.

Major League Baseball had argued that billions of dollars in licensing fees could be jeopardized if the original ruling was not overturned. They did not do enough to convince the Supreme Court of that.

June 3, 2008
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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