Ivan Parron of Parron Law. Courtesy photo. As Sports Betting Redefines Sports Law, Contract Negotiations Become Complex
The legalization of sports betting and the licensure of such rights to new tech market players is redefining sports media and sports law. As a result, contract negotiations are becoming increasingly complex and requiring parties to consider an evolving set of nuanced issues.
May 20, 2021 at 10:27 AM
9 minute read
Entertainment and Leisure
The legalization of sports betting and the licensure of such rights to new tech market players is redefining sports media and sports law. As a result, contract negotiations are becoming increasingly complex and requiring parties to consider an evolving set of nuanced issues.
This trend—which began to emerge following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 and open the floodgates to allow states to legalize sports betting—has reached epic proportions in recent months. The past 90 days alone have brought an unprecedented boom in sports media industry transactions, including:
- The Fox Sports regional television networks have rebranded as "Bally Sports" in a 10-year, $85 million deal
- ESPN is experimenting with gambling-focused studio shows
- DraftKings purchased the Vegas Stats & Information Network for $50 million
- Caesars Entertainment has closed multiple deals with professional teams such as the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks to open sports books in ballparks and stadiums across the country
- Genius Sports, who licenses all of the NFL's sports betting data rights, completed a $1.5 billion public offering and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Based on my experience since 1995 at the center of the convergence of technology within the sports and entertainment industries commencing with the internet and dot-com boom, I can say there's not much I haven't seen—and without a doubt, I have never witnessed this degree of activity and change within the industry in such a short time frame. As the name suggests, sports betting rights are needed by sports betting books to market and build applications that take physical and virtual sports bets. By definition, these rights typically are a bundle of licenses comprised of game data rights, historical game data rights, game video transmission rights and trademark usage rights, commonly collectively sublicensed from sports data tech companies who have acquired the official rights directly from sports federations, leagues, conferences and teams and often with Global exclusivity.
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