Gaming, not gambling: Delta partners with DraftKings for inflight sports picks

Delta Air Lines is bringing DraftKings gaming — but not gambling — to the skies.The new gaming feature, called SkyPicks, is free to play and available starting right away on Delta planes equipped with the airline's Delta Sync Wi-Fi. The airline says the game will give sports fans "a new way to engage with teams and leagues they love — letting them participate in the sports conversation, not just watch."Essentially, flyers will be able to test their sports knowledge and compete for Delta gift cards by making sports predictions tied to real matches.The Delta-DraftKings deal was formally announced Wednesday, following through on a collaboration with the online sports betting giant that Delta first teased back in January 2025 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.At the time, the news led to plenty of speculation about whether full-fledged gambling would expand to the skies.But now the Delta-DraftKings partnership is here, and gambling with cash or miles is not part of the equation.Delta's new SkyPicks on a phone. DELTA AIR LINES"We just wanted to stay in the classic games genre, where it's tried-and-true," Ranjan Goswami, Delta's chief marketing and product officer, said durin...