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Delta customers might be able to gamble from 30,000 feet in the air.
The airline announced a partnership with online sports betting provider DraftKings at the start of the year. Now, Delta Airlines is hinting that in-flight sports betting is on the horizon.
The original partnership with DraftKings allowed Delta to offer many of the online sportsbook and casino operator’s game options through the inflight entertainment center. However, real-money gaming isn’t available.
But that could be changing. The airline distributed a survey to customers gauging their interest about making sports bets while flying.
Survey Shows Sports Betting Being Considered
A Reddit user revealed a photo of the survey last week. The survey asks if passengers would like to trial or explore “exclusive access to sports gambling opportunities” through Delta’s wifi portal.
The user expressed opposition to allowing betting while on flights and was concerned about potential negative consequences.
“What an absolutely terrible idea,” the user noted. “Let’s give people captive and bored on a plane the ability to gamble on their phone. I hope this is just one of those weird survey questions and not something they are actually thinking of doing.”
When the deal with DraftKings was originally announced, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the goal was simply to offer more gaming options for customers.
“From fantasy sports to online adventures, gaming has become a regular 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,” he said. “Our partnership with DraftKings will build on the games portfolio we already offer today via Delta Sync and our seatback screens while using the deep expertise that Jason [Robins, DraftKings co-founder and CEO] and his team have developed over the past decade.”
Legal Landscape Makes Implementation Challenging
The Gambling Devices Act of 1962 actually makes gambling on domestic flights illegal. However, that probably wouldn’t apply to international flights.
Adding in-flight casino gaming wouldn’t be unprecedented. In 1981, Singapore Airlines offered slot machines on a Singapore-to-San Francisco route for two months.
“They proved so popular that the machines in the back of the cabin caused egress and service issues, with too many passengers congregating,” the View from the Wing travel blog noted. “The lightweight machines that were selected (less weight means less fuel burn) weren’t sturdy enough either. In fact, all seven slot machines broke on their inaugural run. Singapore Airlines revisited the idea in the late 1990s.”
