By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) – Delta Air Lines will offer a sports prediction game on flights in a partnership with sports betting company DraftKings, but will not allow gambling, it said on Wednesday.
The airline said the game will be open to passengers aged 21 and older and allow players to win Delta gift cards but does not include betting, deposit functionality, buy-in, or financial risk. Last year, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal urged the companies not to allow gambling on board, citing a 1962 law that outlaws gambling on commercial aircraft.
Airlines are offering more content — including games, live TV and movies — in the air to help entertain passengers. Delta says sports content consistently ranks among the highest-performing categories on its in-air platform.
Delta first announced the planned collaboration with DraftKings in early 2025. The new sports game starts on Wednesday and is designed solely as an entertainment experience within Delta Sync Wi-Fi.
Delta said SkyPicks will launch with Major League Baseball contests, with NFL matchups coming later this year. The game is tied to passengers making predictions on real matchups.
The game is available through Delta Sync Wi-Fi on mobile or personal devices, not seatback screens. Customers must sign in with a DraftKings account or create one to unlock a set of questions about a single game, or a series of games.
Questions will include player head-to-head performance and game-winner picks and prizes will be awarded to the top performers in individual contests and monthly leaderboards.
A 2025 Pew Research poll reported 22% of adults said they have personally bet money on sports in the past year, up from 19% three years ago.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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