Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian announced a partnership with DraftKings at his CES speech in Las Vegas. I assumed that – since inflight gambling is illegal under the Gambling Devices Act of 1962 – this would look something like earn Delta SkyMiles for sports betting through DraftKings. After all, you can earn Marriott points with BetMGM already today.
While Delta has been quiet about the particulars, Bastian actually said that their DraftKings partnership is going to integrate with their inflight entertainment system.
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.
This sounds to me like two things.
- Delta is going to offer inflight gaming without monetary bets which are illegal. That means giving (selling) access to Delta customers, so that DraftKings can build its client base that will then gamble with real money on the ground.
- Potentially lobbying a Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for a change in law. Department of Transportation research suggests that an airline the size of Delta (or United or American) would earn over $1 billion a year from inflight gambling.
This first piece, that we’ll likely see first – gambling games without real money at stake – is consistent with what Bastian said next: “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 (CEO of DraftKings) and his team have developed over the past decade.”
According to a Delta Air Lines spokesperson,
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.
There’s a billion dollars of revenue here that’s just out of reach for each major airline. Delta is going to be first among peers at beginning to tap a small fraction of it. It’s hard to imagine that their government relations team won’t be salivating at the possibility of accessing the rest.
The next opportunity too, by the way, is gambling using frequent flyer miles instead of money. I was approached by a team working on the idea 10 years ago. My feedback at the time as that programs weren’t ready to consider it. Much of the taboo there seems to be gone, for better or worse.
2/1 odds your Boeing flight lands safely
It is also possible that DL and DraftKings can come up with a ground-based intermediary possibly including AI that can execute transactions so that the passenger on the aircraft is not actually betting.
You know I have been gambling for years JUST flying DL!
Picard
The gambling industry makes massive profits due to people naively thinking they can beat the house. Online casino sportsbooks only exacerbate that.
https://brothke.medium.com/why-you-should-never-sign-up-for-an-online-casino-sportsbook-free-offer-3e6b99b013d?sk=1894df090436026b7f2a69e5b0e8ebde
Another one (about onboard gambling), Gary? Cool, cool..
It’s hilarious that Delta will skirt restrictions by not involving any money to be exchanged–quick fix: deregulation will be our new ‘way of life’ quite soon, around January 20, 2025, starting at noon.
What other addictive behaviors can airlines/corporations promote?
Obviously, alcohol is already a thing, unless it’s a ‘devout’ Islamic carrier, then just juices and teas–Qatar, Emirates, etc., are obvious blasphemers by daring to serve us once out of certain regions.
Shall we bring back onboard smoking sections? The kids love the vapes these days, after all. How about left side of the plane is smoking, right side is non-smoking. Genius.
Microplastics are in everything already, so that’s sort of an ‘addiction’ to the petroleum byproducts as well. Drill, baby, drill… our health and all ecosystems be damned.
Oh, and how could I forget, the ‘mile high’ club, but make it more official, like, say, a pay-to-play ‘room’ in the back, for those that are inclined.
Get creative–think of the profits! Anyone else got anything better?
THIS is what keeps Delta Air Lines the industry leader! Always thinking outside the box. From oil refineries to credit card partnerships- Delta keeps on climbing. The global airline leader in profitability.
With a captive audience of 141.6 million passengers per year- the possibilities of generating additional entertainment revenue are endless.
Delta – where the skies are unlimited.
So gambling without exchanging money… basically for a gambling addict does that make flying DL like going to a methadone clinic?
LOL. Gambling and SkyMiles are synonymous. Soon, Delta Diamonds will be able to bet their “non-monetary” award miles on DraftKings for “premium” prizes like guaranteed SkyClub access (without the 24/7 wait list)…
I can see the argument why it should be allowed when not directly over a country’s airspace (international waters), which would make it no different from cruise ships allowing gambling.
Wonder what American will do without seatback screens? Maybe their FAs can take the bets on paper slips and enter them for the customer