Delta and DraftKings Launch SkyPicks, a Free Sports Prediction Game for Airborne Passengers

Delta Air Lines and DraftKings have launched SkyPicks, a free-to-play sports prediction game built for passengers 21 and older on U.S. domestic flights. The product went live on Wednesday, July 29, and runs through Delta’s Sync Wi-Fi, letting flyers compete for Delta gift cards rather than cash.

The design is deliberate. A 1962 federal law bars gambling on commercial aircraft, and last year Sen. Richard Blumenthal publicly urged Delta and DraftKings not to bring wagering on board. SkyPicks answers that concern directly — there’s no deposit function, no buy-in, and no financial risk of any kind attached to the game.

How SkyPicks Actually Works

Passengers log into Delta’s in-flight Wi-Fi on a personal laptop or phone, sign into an existing DraftKings account or create a new one, then pick a league to unlock a slate of eight to 12 questions tied to a single game or a group of games. The questions mix straightforward winner picks with head-to-head player comparisons, and players can revise selections right up until the matchup kicks off — so a late scratch or lineup change doesn’t wreck a submitted card. Ties get broken using predicted total points or runs scored, depending on the sport.

New contests launch twice a week, and Delta built in a convenience factor for road warriors: travelers can always jump into the next upcoming contest even if their favorite team isn’t playing on their travel day. Top scorers earn rewards in individual contests, and there’s also a monthly leaderboard for players chasing bigger prizes over time.

MLB First, NFL Coming Next

SkyPicks is starting with Major League Baseball matchups, with National Football League contests set to follow once that season kicks off. Delta says sports content already ranks among the top-performing categories on its in-flight entertainment platform, which is part of why the airline wanted an interactive product in that space rather than just more programming to watch. Delta operates as many as 5,500 flights a day to more than 300 destinations across six continents and carried over 200 million passengers last year, giving SkyPicks a massive built-in audience from day one.

“At DraftKings, we believe interaction with sports shouldn’t begin and end with the game itself — it should extend to every moment fans care about,” said Jeremy Elbaum, DraftKings’ Chief Commercial Officer. “Collaborating with Delta gives us the opportunity to reimagine what sports engagement can look like while traveling, bringing innovative ways for fans to stay connected to the games they love.”

Part of a Bigger DraftKings Push

DraftKings first teased the Delta collaboration at CES back in January 2025, well before any product details were locked in. The launch also lands as DraftKings works to fold its sportsbook, casino games, lottery products, and prediction markets into a single “Super App” experience — an effort that recently included the debut of DKeX, the company’s in-house prediction markets exchange. For fans who like to track live MLB odds or lean on a DraftKings promo code when the season shifts to football season lineups, SkyPicks gives DraftKings another everyday touchpoint with sports fans that has nothing to do with a traditional sportsbook or casino floor.

The partnership effectively gives DraftKings a new audience — flyers with idle time and Wi-Fi access — while letting Delta lean further into the sports content its own data shows travelers already want.