Patent Wars In Online Betting Industry

Online sports betting was a big business before the pandemic and has grown because of it. Which team, individual or horse wins is the best-known of the betting opportunities, but some more obscure “micro-market” wagers— Will the runner on second score? How will the next at-bat end?— pose technological problems that spawn patented solutions. The worst outcome from the company’s perspective is called “past-posting,” which occurs when bettors have live data before the sports-book operator, and bet accordingly. Much of betting companies’ IP is devoted to solving that problem. A company named DraftKings is being sued by Winview, a subsidiary of Toronto-based gaming company Engine Media,  over the alleged infringements of two such patents in a district court in New Jersey. According to the lawsuit, “An individual in New Jersey using a satellite dish network may experience a three second delay compared to an individual in California using a cable network. Recognizing that these latencies need to be accommodated in order to maintain user enjoyment and fairness for all participants, the inventors described and claimed technical solutions to these problems.” DraftKings rang the Nasdaq Closing Bell on July 8 to mark its listing on the exchange.