NCAA Sues DraftKings Over March Madness Usage to Protect Collegiate Integrity

The NCAA is suing popular gambling company DraftKings for trademark infringement, the Association announced in a release Friday evening.

The emergency temporary restraining order was formally filed in federal court in Indianapolis in an effort to stop the gambling brand from using the NCAA’s federally registered trademarks of “MARCH MADNESS,” “FINAL FOUR”, “ELITE EIGHT” and “SWEET SIXTEEN” in connection with the company’s sports wagering products and promotional marketing.

DraftKings has not been shy about marketing its gambling products around the tournament, which the NCAA is arguing was done with unauthorized use of the Association’s trademarks and may “cause confusion among NCAA members and student-athletes that the Association is involved with and/or endorsing sports betting.”

The NCAA added in its release that the Association does not have “any commercial relationships with any sportsbooks of any kind” and that a complaint was a “crucial step in furthering its mission to protect the integrity of competition and student-athlete well-being” from the harms of sports betting.”

The NCAA has had its fair share of betting scandals to deal with, particularly in the world of college basketball, over the last couple of years. The first suspicions of gambling corruption came to light in March of 2024, when irregular wagering was flagged on a contest between UAB and Temple. Gambling watchdog company U.S. Integrity alerted casinos about unusual gambling after the first-half spread in the contest jumped excessively in UAB’s favor. The Temple player at the center of the investigation was Owls star point guard Hysier Miller, who transferred to Virginia Tech a few months after the game in question. Miller was ultimately dismissed from the Hokies’ basketball program as a result of additional facts that came to light regarding the investigation.

Separately, this past January, 20 college basketball players were indicted in a federal point-shaving case. The investigation involved 17 schools, with 29 games affected by the gambling scandal.

So it’s no surprise that the NCAA wants to distance itself from the marketing of companies like DraftKings, especially around larger tentpole events like March Madness.

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