DraftKings Releases SkyPicks in Bid to Expand to In-Flight Gambling Entertainment

DraftKings (DKNG ) has partnered with Delta Airlines to launch a new product for US gamers. SkyPicks is a free-to-play picking game that will offer predictions on real games, and it is specifically designed to kill those lengthy hours spent during flights. The games will be conducted in contests, with questionnaires that you can fill out relating to upcoming games, and then you enter contests against your peers. It will feature no wagering, no real money, and all rewards are tied to the Delta loyalty program.

The question that weighs heavy around this product is whether or not it is actually legal – and then – if it will possibly catch on or become another experimental DraftKings side product that will slowly fade into obscurity? Because there are plenty of examples of those, which we will explore in a minute. It isn’t the first time a sportsbook or airline operator dabbled in gambling, or gambling-style products (this is a free game, so we can’t exactly name it gambling). SkyPicks has a good ring to it, and if this product takes off, could it spark a new wave of flight DFS or even sportsbooks?

Introducing SkyPicks

DraftKings stated on July 29, that it has formed a partnership with Delta Air Lines and will launch SkyPicks (DAL ). The service will be available on all US domestic Delta flights with Wi-Fi, and customers can play the contests on their mobile devices or laptops. The idea of the game is that players can sign up through their DraftKings account (or make one to sign up to SkyPicks), and then enter free to play, player pool contests. No deposits, real money or legal wagering takes place.

The contests are held by a series of questions relating to upcoming games. These can span moneyline-style picks, such as who will win the game, all the way to props bets such as who will score first, which player will score higher, and final score predictions for tie breakers. There will be contests relating to single games, and ones relating to groups of games, and the Delta news hub announcement suggested that they will start with MLB and NFL games. The app will also feature live TV streams, including NFL, NASCAR, MLB, college football and even UFC.

As for prizes, flying customers are playing for a chance to win Delta Gift Cards. Wrapping up, the conditions for using SkyPicks will be the following:

• 21+ and eligible to join (not on exclusion lists or banned)
• You must have a DraftKings account
• You must have a Delta SkyMiles account (to access Wi-Fi)
• Only available through Delta Sync Wi-Fi portals (available on 1,200+ aircrafts)

Gambling on Flights

This new product is not actually gambling, from a legal point as it does not involve real money. Otherwise, it would be a very difficult landscape to navigate. However, it is not the first time an airline has experimented with in-flight gambling. Back in the 1990s, Lauda Air had real in-flight casino games, in partnership with software developer Intergame. You could swipe your credit card into the computer system, and then tuck into some blackjack, slots or poker. If the name of the Austrian airline sounds familiar, it may be because you are an F1 fan or watched the film Rush – it was the airline of Niki Lauda – but Lauda Air is no longer in operation.

Swissair was the other airline that experimented with full-on casino games. The original Swissair was formed in 1931 and was the national airline of Switzerland. The company introduced an in-flight gambling system back in 1997, featuring keno, bingo and lotto. However, the games were not widely used, and they required heavy tech, including large computer processors, records above the passenger cabins, and wires running through the roof and walls to the LCD displays on the back of each seat. You may guess where this is going.

Following the tragic Swissair Flight 111 crash in 1998, the gambling feature and mechanics were ditched. They weren’t specifically to blame for the crash, but the scrutiny was enough for Swissair to abandon the idea. The company went bankrupt in 2002 and rebranded as Swiss Air, which is still in operation today.

Ryanair Scratch Cards

The only “successful” example of an airline that has gambling-style features that are still live is Ryanair’s Scratch Cards. If you have been on the Irish-based budget airline, then you may have seen the stewards come round with their scratch card games, one of which has a top payout of €1 million. The prizes can feature either real cash or airline credits, or a mixture of both. While the airline states that proceeds do go to charity, an investigation suggested they barely give 0.5%, with only €55,000 donated from €16 million revenue back in 2013. But given it is a budget airline, and this is the same company that came up with the €1 fee for using the toilets, or the notion of standing flights (both of which were rejected on humanitarian grounds), it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

A History of DraftKings Experiments

The main products that DraftKings is famous for are its sportsbook, DFS platform and online casino. The Boston-based gambling company started in 2012 as a DFS provider, alongside the New York-based FanDuel. After sports betting was legalized at a federal level in 2018, DraftKings expanded into online and retail sports betting, and since then, it has boldly tried numerous verticals and experimental products. Besides their main roster of products, there are also limited release or experimental products like:

• DraftKings Predictions (prediction market, launched earlier this year through RailBird)
• DraftKings Pools (fixed fee and free betting pools)
• DraftKings JackPocket (a lottery app offering multi-state and local draw games, including Powerball and Mega Millions)
• DK Replays (historical MLB games betting app, debuted in Oregon in 2026)
• DraftKings Pick6 (Pick’Em fantasy platform, like PrizePicks)

But there have also been a few experiments that have quietly been withdrawn in the past few years too.

DraftKings Discontinued Games/Features

These are the products or sub-platforms that only someone who has used DraftKings for years may remember – otherwise, DraftKings would rather have every trace of them removed. So, without hurting anyone’s feelings, here is a short list of DraftKings’ dirty laundry.

• DraftKings Reignmakers (2021-24): A fantasy game around trading NFT player cards, the vision being a crypto collectibles ecosystem, traded on the DraftKings Marketplace
• DraftKings Casino Missions (2010s-20s): These have mostly disappeared; they were gamified missions based around the casino games
• DraftKings Sportsbook Live Fantasy/Micro Fantasy (2010s-20s): Single-game fantasy to quick contests (read micro bets). These were absorbed into the Pick6 and fantasy products
• DraftKings Arcade (2019-21): casual games such as trivia and skill-based for prizes
• DraftKings Social Casino (2010s, limited rollout): Yes, the online casino and sportsbook operator actually did have a sweepstakes casino at one point, but focused on the regulated market instead

From NFT trading to sweepstakes casinos, and even skill-based arcade games, hats off to DraftKings; they are a company that is up for the odd experiment or innovative idea. If SkyPicks doesn’t take flight (pun intended) with its targeted user base, then DraftKings may have to force another crash landing (sorry), and shelve this product like it has some of its previous side experiments. But given the publicity and the partnership with Delta, who will also be responsible for marketing SkyPicks to their customers, this could be a good formula.

Could Customers Respond Positively to SkyPicks?

The idea of playing gambling games at 30,000+ feet in the air is not new, but it is a concept that has not really caught on in mainstream entertainment. The service will only run for US domestic flights, and there are long haul flights such as those between East and West coasts that can take 5-6 hours, or even flights to the Island state of Hawaii that may take up to 11+ hours (from the East Coast), where such a platform could be handy. Besides the common in-flight activities such as reading a book, watching TV shows or movies, or just sleeping.

This is definitely a niche product, only for DraftKings members and Delta passengers, but perhaps a limited release could be a good way of testing the waters. After all, this is not the same as spending hours in transit at an airport, where there may be on-site slots venues, or gambling destinations nearby (there are over 1,400 slot machines in the Harry Reid International Airport in Paradise, Nevada). Nor is it the same as the big cruise ship casinos, which can entertain long-staying travelers for weeks or even months on end (recurring customers make possibilities for loyalty programs and bespoke experiences).

Airplane gambling is not as much a thing. But DraftKings and Delta are prepared to take a gamble here and test out this product on the US public. Who knows, if it does catch on, then real money gambling features may be integrated (permitting state and federal laws), and we could see the likes of FanDuel, Caesars and MGM jump on the bandwagon.