Panda Interactive has filed lawsuits in Texas against two major sports technology companies, Genius Sports and Sportradar. Panda alleges infringement on patents that allow bettors to stream games while betting simultaneously.
The case could alter the features players enjoy in mobile sportsbook apps.
SportsCastr, which does business as Panda Interactive, contends it developed the technology in 2016 that allows players to place real-time bets seamlessly while a game is streaming. The product in question is B2B Watch & Bet, which Panda offers to a select group of sports betting operators.
The suits claim the two companies are using technology the company made large investments in to make money in direct competition with Panda.
Why is Panda suing Genius Sports and Sportradar?
Panda claims its own technology is being used against it.
Despite being based in Las Vegas, Panda filed the lawsuits in US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division. Of course, Texas sports betting is illegal, both in-person betting and online wagering. All attempts to legalize sports betting in The Lone Star State have failed in the past.
According to the complaints:
“[SportsCastr] developed, built and has obtained numerous patents covering revolutionary internet technology for the delivery of broadcasts that are enhanced with synchronized, contextually-matched and actionable live data and content. … this technology enables viewers to see live odds and to place a bet while watching a sporting event.”
SportsCastr says its cases “involve patented technologies that helped to revolutionize, and have become increasingly adopted in, the fields of live video streaming, also referred to as livestreaming or simply streaming.”
According to the lawsuit against Sportradar, it infringes on SportsCastr’s patents with its Sportradar emBet, Sportradar OTT and Sportradar Live Channel Trading products.
SportsCastr claims it has “lost sales and profits and suffered irreparable harm, including lost market share and goodwill,” from the companies.
Panda CEO says its technology precedes sports betting
According to its website, Sportradar has major clients in several sports, including:
- NBA
- NFL
- NHL
- MLB
- NASCAR
- UEFA
- FIFA
A Delaware-based company, SportsCastr says it filed its suit in Texas because Sportradar “has a regular and established practice of recruiting employees for work in Texas in furtherance of its business, and specifically in relation to the accused products …”
According to filings and its own website, Sportradar secured a patent on the referenced livestreaming technology in 2019.
Panda Interactive CEO Kevin April said his company “developed its pioneering technology long before sports betting was even legal in the US.”
“Sportradar and Genius Sport are infringing on our patents and capitalizing on our groundbreaking work.”
Donald Schupak, chairman of Panda, echoed the CEO’s statement.
“No one wants to see their own arsenal used against them in battle.”
