The UK’s House of Lords recently debated on the Sporting Events Bill, primarily focused on standardizing the legal framework for hosting major sporting tournaments. During the debate, Lord Don Foster of Bath introduced amendments aimed at making the unauthorized use of sports data without a license a criminal offense, a practice also called data piracy.
What Is Data Piracy?
Pirated sports data is reported to be widespread across both offshore and regulated markets with its substantially lower cost compared with officially licensed data regarded as a major factor driving demand. During the debate, Lord Foster explained that sporting bodies typically enter into voluntary agreements with companies authorized to collect sports data.
Those companies are then permitted to license the data to third parties, including gambling operators, generating significant revenue for the sports organizations. However, he argued that the current licensing system is difficult to enforce. This makes it challenging to monitor compliance and take effective action against those who use or distribute unlicensed sports data.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that legal precedents in the US, UK and EU have ruled that raw data itself isn’t copyrightable. For example, in the European Union, courts have held that compilations of sports data may qualify for database right protection where there has been substantial investment in the verification and maintenance of the data. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, rights holders have also relied on the law of confidence to protect live sports data, using it to challenge the unauthorized scraping of information obtained through surreptitious means.
Lord Foster Called Out LSports
Lord Foster’s proposal comes at a time when companies such as Genius Sports and Sportradar have developed substantial businesses by acquiring and licensing sports data rights to gambling operators around the world. The debate also follows legal proceedings initiated by Sportradar against sports data provider LSports in Israel earlier this year. Sportradar alleges that it identified unauthorized copying by deliberately inserting inaccurate data into its feeds, which was then allegedly replicated by LSports.
Speaking about Sportradar, the company recently signed a major non-exclusive deal with Kalshi, allowing the latter to use the former’s data, market makers and sportsbooks. Some analysts have suggested that the agreement could ultimately generate tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue for Sportradar, while others are debating what this could mean to the broader industry.
But back to the current debate, Lord Foster identified LSports as an example of what he described as unlawful activity in the sector, alleging that the company uses sports data from the UK without obtaining a license.
Responding to the allegations, an LSports spokesperson said the company is incorporated and operates under the laws of the State of Israel and conducts its business in compliance with applicable legal requirements. The spokesperson stated that LSports has not acted unlawfully under English law, has not infringed any intellectual property or data rights, and rejects the labeling of the company’s activities as “piracy.”
LSports generates its data through a range of methods, including its own scouting network, television-based data collection, and proprietary computer vision technology. The company also stated that, when supplying UK-licensed operators, it provides odds data solely for benchmarking purposes, rather than the live sports data referenced during the parliamentary debate.
Will Amendments Be Made?
Under Lord Foster’s proposed amendments, offenders could have faced a fine of up to GBP 50,000 (about $67,000) upon summary conviction, with the right to appeal. Despite his case, none of the amendments were retained at the bill’s report stage as the government said it had no reason to believe that it is currently a significant issue.
While Lord Foster’s intervention appears intended to draw greater attention to the emerging issue, it remains unclear whether similar amendments will be incorporated into the final legislation, which is primarily focused on standardizing the legal framework for hosting major sporting tournaments. The bill will now proceed to the House of Commons for further scrutiny, with its next stage expected after Parliament returns from the summer recess in September.