Will Delta Allow Sports Gambling? Some Passengers Hate the Idea

Air travel doesn't have a lot of in-air activity options. You can watch a movie or television show, listen to music, or play computer games. That's about it.

Everyone's experienced the restless, cramped experience of flying.

However, sports gambling doesn't usually come to mind.

Passengers were asked in a survey whether Delta should allow sports gambling while on Delta WiFi, according to a June 20 Reddit post that shared a screenshot. 

"Interesting question asked in Delta Survey - Do you want exclusive access to sports gambling on your personal device while on Delta WiFi?" it says.

That's not as far-fetched as it might sound. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian "announced a partnership with DraftKings at his CES speech in Las Vegas back in January," View From the Wing reported, adding, "Since inflight gambling is illegal, I assumed this would mean earning Delta SkyMiles for sports betting through DraftKings." 

The site noted, though, that Bastian said that the airline "would integrate DraftKings into their inflight entertainment system," quoting him as saying, "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."

To make that happen, it could take an act of Congress, CBS quoted one expert as saying when the idea was first floated. A spokesperson told the network then that Delta "is seeking to build out it's gaming portfolio."

People slammed the idea on Reddit, although it's far from clear how this would even work.

"What an absolutely terrible idea," the original poster wrote.

"I hope this is just one of those weird survey questions and not something they are actually thinking of doing. Yes, I realize you could do this anyway if you have WiFi on your phone inflight, but it just feels like another step to push this in the Delta WiFi portal for everyone to see."

Another person joked on the thread, "Gambling with Skymiles LOL imagine losing 20k miles to Betty in 21D in Poker because you didnt think the sweet old lady would bluff with trash."

"Lose $2,000 in flight? After a few jack & coke? Increase in inflight incidents for sure. I don’t want to be diverted because the Lakers lost and someone’s mortgage payment was riding on it," another person wrote. "Who thinks of these ideas?"

Related: Southwest Airlines Announces 'Unprecedented' Change Amid Free Bag Outrage