Youth Basketball Group Accused of Illegal Hotel ‘Tying’ Deals

An organization that runs youth basketball tournaments was sued Tuesday with claims it violated antitrust laws by requiring participants to stay at specific hotels as a condition to attending competitions.

Plaintiff Patricia Martinez alleges US Junior Nationals Inc.'s “stay-to-play” agreements with preferred hotels is an illegal tying arrangement that deprives youth sports participants of choice and forces them into hotels “at the prices that Defendant and its partners select,” according to a suit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Allegedly unlawful tying arrangements are the subject of multiple antitrust suits—accusations that a business ...