Entain Suffers High Court Setback in Legal War Against UK Matched Betting Sites

Entain’s crackdown on UK matched-betting businesses has hit an early setback after the High Court struck out copyright infringement claims brought by the gambling giant.

Entain launched legal proceedings against Liquidity Trading Ltd. and parent companies behind matched-betting platforms—including OddsMonkey, Outplayed, Team Profit, and Team Casino—alleging widespread intellectual property infringement.

The Ladbrokes and Coral owner accused the services of infringing copyrights tied to its website assets and logos, alongside 18 registered trademarks spanning brands such as Ladbrokes, Coral, bwin, Sportingbet, Gala, and Foxy.

Matched betting allows users to convert bookmaker promotional offers and free bets into risk-minimized returns. To facilitate this, matched-betting sites display sportsbook logos and current promotions before routing users to operator platforms.

However, High Court Judge Richard Cawson struck out Entain’s copyright claims, ruling the gambling giant failed to adequately establish ownership of the underlying assets.

Copyright Confusion

Judge Cawson highlighted key deficiencies in Entain’s case regarding who authored the disputed materials and how legal title transferred to the entity bringing the lawsuit.

Because third-party agencies and external subsidiaries created several of the digital assets, establishing chain of ownership proved problematic. Cawson criticized Entain’s delay in addressing the gap, noting that ownership assignment issues remained unresolved nearly 11 months into litigation.

The decision was not a final judgment on the merits. Entain was granted a narrow window to amend its pleadings and provide formal proof of ownership.

Trademark Battle Continues

More critically for the industry, Entain’s trademark infringement claims remain fully intact. The defendants did not move to strike out those allegations, acknowledging they present triable issues with a real prospect of success.

Entain has previously characterized matched betting as a “parasitic” business model that profits from promotional campaigns while driving behavior operators never intended to subsidize.

In response, the platforms contend their deployment of Entain trademarks constitutes fair referential use—simply identifying operators and available promotions—rather than implying any commercial affiliation with brands like Ladbrokes or Coral.