DraftKings and Delta are still planning on teaming up, but the collaboration won’t involve any sort of real-money gaming. Nor was the deal ever likely to be about that, despite assumptions to that effect by various media outlets, industry pundits, and the general public.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian teased investors with a mention of the deal at a keynote address in early January, but didn’t elaborate. For many Americans, DraftKings is synonymous with its sports betting and daily fantasy sports platform. So, the immediate assumption was that this meant in-flight sports betting was coming.
The trouble, of course, is that any sort of in-flight gambling is thoroughly illegal under federal aviation laws.
Today, Delta has confirmed that the plan is for free in-flight gaming powered by DraftKings technology, without any real money wagering.
The potential collaboration contemplates that eligible SkyMiles Members can access free gaming as an additional offering on Delta Sync Wi-Fi available through SkyMiles Members’ personal electronic devices. The Delta Sync experience does not include gaming of any kind using real money or miles.
That last sentence puts to rest speculation by Bonus and others that the companies could explore using reward miles instead of cash to skirt legal definitions of gambling, which typically only apply when real money or tangible goods change hands.
No need to change any laws
Offering the games on members’ personal devices rather than seat-back entertainment appears to be an extra layer of precaution. The federal prohibition on in-flight gambling makes it illegal to have a gambling device on a plane. Not using real money or Delta-owned hardware for the games would likely keep them on the right side of both the aviation and general gambling laws.
It has taken a month for Delta to issue this clarification, however. In the meantime, the assumption that in-flight sports betting was being planned led to a variety of reactions, including from lawmakers.
Vice, for instance, recently published an article sarcastically titled In-Flight Sports Betting Could Soon Be a Thing. Because We All Need That. Similar op-eds appeared around the internet, decrying the idea-that-was-never-an-idea.
Federal Senator Robert Blumenthal called upon the companies to cancel the plans which, again, never existed to begin with. At the other extreme, Connecticut Representative Christopher Rosario rushed to draft a bill legalizing in-flight betting for flights into and out of the state so that Connecticut could be at the forefront of the completely hypothetical and likely-impossible product.
Now that Delta has clarified the limits of the deal, this has all proven to be much ado about nothing.
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