Jerry Lawler recently became a corporate spokesperson for Tennessee-based Action 24/7. They are a sportsbook company that has started featuring Lawler in their ads. However, this has caused some legal issues for the company.
The Tennessee Star has reported that BetMGM from Las Vegas has sent a cease and desist order to Action 24/7 over their ads, claiming trademark infringement. In the ads, Lawler is featured in his wrestling gear where he calls the company The Real King of Sportsbooks complete with company logo.
The cease and desist letter states that BetMGM owns “extensive rights in the trademark THE KING OF SPORTSBOOKS (the ‘BetMGM Mark’) in connection with sports betting services and mobile gaming applications.”
Attorney Lindsey A. Williams who sent the cease and desist letter on behalf of BetMGM also stated in the letter “Action 24/7 is advertising its sports betting platform using a nearly identical variation of the BetMGM Mark featured with imitating font, spacing, and coloring, and an overall substantially similar appearance.”
“Such promotional activities amount to trademark infringement, trademark dilution and/or unfair competition under the Lanham Act and applicable state law. Absent authorization, any use of the BetMGM Mark or a confusingly similar variation that misleads the public by creating a false association and/or suggests an affiliation or endorsement between BetMGM and Action 24/7 violates BetMGM’s federal and state trademark rights,” Williams went on to say.
Action 24/7 responded by saying BetMGM has no case because Lawler has gone by The King for close to 50 years.
“I guess they (BetMGM) don’t know much about Tennessee or anything about Jerry Lawler.” “People in Tennessee love Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, and he just wanted to let them know that there is only one king in Tennessee. That’s him.”
Action 24/7’s spokeswoman Tina Hodges went on to make this a case of David vs. Goliath as BetMGM is a national company and Action 24/7 is a local business. She went on to say this was “a classic case of a big international casino and hotel chain with a high-priced attorney sending a threatening letter to a hometown startup that they think will just be afraid.”
“I think it’s funny that such a big international casino would be so up in arms about Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler responding to their tweet,” Hodges said.
No offifical legal action has been taken yet, but the situation is certainly getting interesting.
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