Sportsbet wins naming rights battle against CrownBet
Proposed CrownBet rebrand to Sportingbet blocked by Federal Court
Paddy Power Betfair’s Australian brand Sportsbet has won the right to prevent rival company CrownBet from changing its name to Sportingbet.
Federal Court Judge Mark Moshinsky approved temporary legal orders preventing CrownBet from proceeding with its intended rebrand after Sportsbet said the revised Sportingbet name was too similar to Sportsbet and as a result was likely to “mislead or deceive” customers.
In a statement following the ruling, a spokesman for Sportsbet said: “This decision demonstrates that the court shares our concern that consumers will be misled into thinking services offered under a Sportingbet brand are connected or associated with Sportsbet.
“Sportsbet will continue to take all necessary action to protect its brand and prevent deception in the market, and will see the matter through to a final determination, if necessary.”
CrownBet’s right to use the Crown brand expires next year, following its takeover by The Stars Group in February. In June, CrownBet filed a change of company name reservation with the Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission to reserve the Sportingbet Pty Ltd name.
At the time of the application, CrownBet CEO Matthew Tripp said that the decision to rebrand the business into SportingBet was to commemorate his father, Alan who had previously owned Sportingbet before selling it to William Hill in 2014.
However, Sportsbet, which is an Australian offshoot of Paddy Power Betfair, launched a federal court application seeking an emergency order preventing CrownBet from doing so, which was granted yesterday by the court.
A spokesman for CrownBet said that the company was “disappointed and will examine the decision closely and consider all options available to us.”