Casino operator MGM Resorts has asked a court to shut down a cybersquatter’s MGM-branded online gambling site.
Last week, MGM filed a trademark infringement suit in a Nevada federal court against the unidentified operator behind Korean-language online casino Livemgm.com. The site makes liberal use of MGM’s iconic ‘lion head’ logo and even includes a bogus copyright notice referencing MGM Resorts International.
MGM’s suit notes that it owns the copyright on both the MGM trademark and the lion logo. The suit accuses the unknown Korean operator of “impersonating MGM and trading off of the substantial fame, goodwill and consumer recognition” of the MGM brand to “lure gamblers to gamble at its illicit website.”
MGM is asking the court for injunctive relief, including transferring the domain name to MGM’s control, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs. The domain transfer is likely, given US registrar control over all dot-com sites, but enforcing any financial penalties will prove slightly more challenging.
This is far from the first occurrence of a US casino operator fighting online gambling cybersquatters. MGM itself has been down this road before on numerous occasions, while rival Las Vegas Sands has also won similar court rulings that have proven to be more moral victories than financially enriching ones.
The problem isn’t confined to US operators, as evidenced by Macau casino operators Galaxy Entertainment Group and SJM Holdings’ past problems with ‘bogus lookalike’ gambling sites.
WILL THE REAL FONBET PLEASE STAND UP?
Even online operators aren’t immune to the sincerest form of flattery, as Russian bookmakers Fonbet had to go to court last year to reclaim ownership of the Fonbet.ru domain. Fonbet, which recently launched its official Russian online betting site bkfon.ru, was seeking to eliminate market confusion sown by the operators of the rogue site.
The Fonbet.ru site was originally registered in 2002 by someone other than the betting firm and traded hands a few times before being acquired by Nocratit Partners Ltd in 2014.
Fonbet representatives told Betting Business Russia that the company had made multiple attempts to acquire the Fonbet.ru domain over the years but were never able to come to terms with the owners. Fonbet said Nocratit was run by a well-known betting operator although Fonbet declined to identify this operator by name for “ethical reasons.”
In February 2016, Fonbet filed a trademark claim with the Arbitration Court of Moscow seeking to regain control of the Fonbet.ru domain, which was redirecting customers to different sports betting sites, both Russian and international. SimilarWeb traffic data showed over 43% of Fonbet.ru visitors were from the Netherlands.
Last November, the Moscow court ruled in Fonbet’s favor, saying Nocratit’s use of Fonbet’s trademark “qualifies as an act of unfair competition.” Nocratit appealed the ruling but were unable to convince the court of appeal to hear the case.
