American Express. Comcast. PayPal. Some of the biggest brands are now being said in the same breath as the investigations into daily fantasy sports providers.
It’s the latest twist in the legal woes surrounding daily fantasy sports leagues: A class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against approximately 50 companies and individuals that have either invested in [DraftKings and FanDuel] or facilitated DFS gaming. That’s according to SI.com.
The defendants include the above-mentioned brands as well, Major League Baseball ventures, NBA, NHL, J.P. Morgan, VISA and several other household name brands. (Last week the New York State attorney general expanded his investigation into daily sports sites and sent a subpoena to online media company Yahoo, according to the New York Times.)
According to SI.com, “Gonzalez’s basic theory of liability is that DraftKings and FanDuel have engaged in illegal gambling and deceptive practices under Florida and federal laws and that the banks, leagues and other companies negligently failed to realize that they were investing and partnering with illegal gambling operations. These other companies, according to Gonzalez, now owe damages to Gomez and Gerecs.”
Regardless of how the legal action unfolds, the companies named in the suit most likely will have to explain to consumers the nature of their relationships with the daily sports fantasy leagues.
While DFS has come under fire in several states, no court has ruled, at least yet, that DFS gaming is unlawful under a state’s law, SI.com said.
But the court of legal opinion often will pale in comparison to the court of public opinion (which can be sympathetic or unforgiving, depeneding on how the issue is communicated and/or explained).
PR managers and directors at the various companies named in the lawsuit will have to provide air cover, as the lawsuit wends its way through the system, and keep senior managers apprised of the optics.
There’s a fine line between newsjacking and taking advantage, aka ambulance chasing. Our job as PR professionals is to tread it carefully.
PR firms need to be mindful of ways their work product may be protected by the attorney-client privilege whenever working with a client’s internal legal team or its external legal counsel.
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