Humphrey v. Viacom

2007 WL 1797648, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44679 (2007)

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Humphrey v. Viacom

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
2007 WL 1797648, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44679 (2007)

Facts

ESPN, Vulcan Sports Media, Sportsline.com, and other companies (hosts) (defendants) hosted websites for fantasy-sports leagues in which participants managed virtual teams of players in a particular sport in competition against other participants based on how their respective players performed in various statistical categories. Participants paid fees to the hosts in exchange for team ownership, access to support services (such as real-time statistics), and data-management services allowing participants to acquire and manage players. A participant’s success in a fantasy competition ultimately depended on his skill in selecting and managing players during the season. Some winners received nominal prizes, such as t-shirts; some especially successful participants won bigger prizes, such as flat-screen televisions. The hosts announced the prizes before the beginning of each season, and the prizes did not depend on the number of participants or the amount of fees the hosts received. The hosts were indifferent to which participants won prizes. Charles Humphrey (plaintiff) sued the hosts, alleging that their fantasy-sports offerings constituted illegal gambling and seeking to recover their purported winnings under New Jersey’s qui tam gambling-loss recovery law. This law authorized a third party to recover gambling losses suffered by others in illegal gambling activities from gambling winners. The hosts moved to dismiss the complaint.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Cavanaugh, J.)

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