William Hill warns Betfred over Super Bowl promo rip-off
Betfred removed the Hills-sponsored promo video and apologised after being contacted by the operator’s legal team
William Hill threatened legal action against Betfred this week after the Warrington-based firm uploaded Hills’ Super Bowl promo to its social media channels with the William Hill branding stripped out.
The ad in question showed Chelsea winger Eden Hazard doing tricks with an American Football before volleying it against the crossbar.
The video below was a social media hit and amassed more than 14.7 million views across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, reportedly making it the most engaging piece of sponsored content over the Super Bowl weekend.
🏈😱 @WilliamHill wanted to do an American football keepie-uppie challenge ahead of the #SuperBowl…
🔥 @hazardeden10 then did this… pic.twitter.com/3ZZVjMBsqM
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 3, 2019
But that didn’t stop Hills’ UK rival Betfred uploading the content to its own Twitter and Facebook accounts after removing all William Hill branding.
EGR Intel understands that Hills’ legal team contacted Betfred immediately and threatened to issue a cease and desist letter, but Betfred removed the content straight away and the operator has since apologised.
According to one source at William Hill, the matter is unlikely to be escalated further.