In early 2025, Delta Air Lines revealed it would partner with sports betting platform DraftKings, in order to improve inflight entertainment. There was only one problem — inflight gambling isn’t allowed in the United States, which made many of us wonder what exactly this would entail.
Roughly 18 months after the initial tease, this partnership is now live, so we have all the details. I can’t help but wonder if there might be more of a long term vision here…
Delta & DraftKings launch SkyPicks, for sports “predicting”
Delta and DraftKings have announced plans to introduce SkyPicks, which is described as a first-of-its-kind collaboration, intended to bring a new sports experience onboard Delta flights, allowing SkyMiles members to win Delta gift cards (the amounts haven’t been disclosed). While DraftKings is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company, the opportunities here are limited, given restrictions on inflight gambling.
The idea is that the new SkyPicks platform allows SkyMiles members who are 21 years of ago and up to use their laptop or mobile device (but not seat back screens) to make predictions tied to real sports matches. This is available starting today, and it’s a completely free-to-play sports contest, which is solely an entertainment experience.
In order to use this, SkyMiles members can connect to the Delta Sync network onboard flights, and then sign into their DraftKings account. Travelers can then choose their league, to unlock a set of questions about a single game, or a predefined group of games. SkyPicks is launching with Major League Baseball contests, with NFL matchups coming later this year, as the season gets underway.
SkyMiles members can make their picks by answering a series of questions, which are a mix of player head-to-heads (“who will have more points?”) and game-winner picks (“which team will win?”). Prizes will then be awarded to the top performers in individual contests and monthly leaderboards. Contests run twice per week, and while onboard, SkyMiles members can always enter the next upcoming contest.
Is there an ulterior motive to this partnership, or…?
It’s certainly a bit unusual to see a major airline partner with a betting platform, given that under current federal laws, inflight gambling in the United States is illegal. Of course it’s legal to gamble at some airports, like in Las Vegas, and that’s a big revenue opportunity for those places.
Bigger picture, I can’t help but wonder what the real motive here is. I suppose one could argue that this as simple as introducing a new form of inflight entertainment. However, given for how long this has been in the works and the way this was announced, I have to imagine there’s a bigger strategy here:
- Is this about driving sign-ups to the Delta SkyMiles program, and/or is it about getting people to register for DraftKings, and Delta getting a cut on new sign-ups?
- If inflight gambling were allowed on US carriers, it could become a very lucrative industry, so one can’t help but wonder if this is the first step toward trying to convince regulators to update those rules
It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out. For now, it’s just a fun way to potentially earn Delta gift cards, and there’s not much downside. However, I suspect there’s a bit more going on here than meets the eye.
Bottom line
Delta is launching a partnership with DraftKings. While that’s ordinarily a sports betting platform, inflight gambling is illegal. So the idea is that SkyMiles members who are 21+ years old can “predict” the outcomes of games, and then win Delta gift cards.
I suppose that’s a fun way to engage travelers, though I have to imagine there’s a bigger revenue opportunity here, and I’m curious what exactly it is.
What do you make of Delta’s new DraftKings partnership?