DraftKings’ Partnership With Delta Airlines Raises More Questions Than It Answers

Delta CEO Ed Bastian delivers CES 2025 centennial Keynote at Sphere Atrium
Photo by Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines has partnered with DraftKings to enhance the gaming portfolio on Delta Sync, the airline’s in-flight Wi-Fi service. What precisely that means, however, remains elusive. The lack of additional details accompanying the announcement has fostered plenty of speculation, but it’s illegal to have gambling devices on US flights, so this isn’t a matter of adding real-money sports betting to Delta’s in-flight entertainment options.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian announced the partnership on Jan. 7 at CES while delivering an immersive keynote at the Sphere Atrium in Las Vegas commemorating the company’s centennial year.

Bastian said:

We continue to find new partners to bring into our ecosystem. Well, since we’re here in Las Vegas – the gaming capital of the world – it’s only fitting to announce a collaboration with DraftKings, one of the world’s leading gaming platforms, for the Delta Sync experience. From fantasy sports to online adventures, gaming has become part of the daily lives of millions of our customers. And you shouldn’t have to hit pause just because you’re in the sky.

“Our partnership with DraftKings will build on the games portfolio that we already offer today via Delta Sync and our seatback screens – while using the deep expertise that Jason (Robins – CEO of DraftKings) and his team have developed over the past decade.”

Inflight gambling in US skies had short-lived history

In an email, a Delta spokesperson told Bonus that the company is thrilled about the partnership. However, Delta is keeping the integration specifics under wraps for now.

Delta is excited to collaborate with DraftKings as we build out the gaming portfolio on our Delta Sync experience. Specific details on the partnership and how DraftKings will appear on Delta Sync will be available at a future date.

DraftKings, similarly, declined to comment.

In the absence of details, some have speculated that it could eventually mean onboard gambling.

However, as Gary Leff of View From The Wing (VFTW) noted, that would be illegal under current US laws.

However, as Leff added, in the past, foreign airlines could offer inflight gambling. Although the take-up was minimal, a few operators, including Singapore Airlines and Swiss International Air, tried mile-high gambling with varied success.

For the former, a gambling trial proved so popular that the machines at the back of the cabin caused service issues. Further, the lighter-weight machines weren’t sturdy enough to handle passenger use and broke down during their first run.

Taking a different tack, the Swiss operator chose to offer seat-based options. However, the airline discontinued inflight gambling after investigators determined that faulty wiring in the inflight entertainment system contributed to the Swissair Flight 111 crash. The tragedy killed all 229 people on board when the flight—traveling from New York to Geneva—crashed in the water off of Nova Scotia.

A legal change would mean billions for Delta and DraftKings

In any case, thanks to the Gambling Devices Act of 1962, these days gambling is illegal on commercial US aircraft.

However, wagering is legal in US airports in legal gambling jurisdictions, like Las Vegas. And in 1991, laws made gambling permissible on cruise ships.

In 2023, BetMGM announced a partnership with Carnival Corporation to offer onboard digital sports betting and real-money casino gaming on its Carnival, Holland America, and Princess cruise lines. Then, last December, Norwegian Cruise Line partnered with Light & Wonder to offer progressive table games to its 18-boat fleet.

Although US airlines have lobbied for the same opportunity, the government instead made it illegal for any aircraft to offer gambling in US airspace—not just domestic flights.

As a result, airlines are missing out on quite the windfall.

As VFTW pointed out, a 1996 Department of Transportation study found that an 800-plane airline could earn approximately $1.3 billion annually via inflight gambling.

With almost 1000 planes in its fleet, today Delta would stand to make even more.

DraftKings product lineup presents myriad possibilities

In his piece, Leff suggests the Delta-DraftKings relationship will likely involve earning Delta SkyMiles or, perhaps, even allowing players to gamble using those points.

However, that ignores Bastian explicitly mentioning synergy with Delta’s inflight entertainment.

Without offering too much speculation, there’s a lot of middle ground between ‘nothing to do with inflight entertainment’ and ‘need the Donald to make inflight real-money gambling legal.’

For instance, friendly play money predictions between passengers are possible, and playing to win SkyMiles is a viable prediction.

Outside of that, the partnership could involve something with fantasy sports or sweepstakes-like inflight action, though that would likely depend on multiple factors. It could even be a service that lets passengers plan bets inflight, which passengers could place almost effortlessly upon landing.

Whatever it turns out to be, there are several possibilities in or adjacent to DraftKings’ existing offerings that are not legally considered gambling.

Until Delta and DraftKings let the cat out of the bag, we’ll just have to wait and see.

About the Author

Robyn McNeil

Robyn McNeil

Robyn McNeil (she/they) is a Nova Scotia-based writer and editor, and the lead writer at Bonus. Here she focuses on news relevant to online casinos, specializing in responsible gambling coverage, legislative developments, gambling regulations, and industry-related legal fights.
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