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The NCAA filed suit against DraftKings in federal court in Indianapolis on Friday, accusing the sportsbook operator of trademark infringement for using "March Madness," "Final Four," "Elite Eight" and "Sweet Sixteen" across its betting platforms without authorisation.
What the NCAA Is Claiming
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of Indiana and assigned to U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, accuses DraftKings of deploying the NCAA’s federally registered trademarks across its consumer-facing app, website and marketing materials during the peak commercial window of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
The NCAA is seeking an emergency temporary restraining order to force DraftKings to remove all instances of the marks immediately. It is also demanding the greater of treble damages or treble DraftKings’ profits from the alleged infringement, plus legal fees.
The 37-page complaint includes nine pages of screenshots documenting trademark use across DraftKings’ platforms. The NCAA also targeted a DraftKings survivor contest called "March Mania" as confusingly similar to its March Madness mark.
“On the eve of the Tournaments, DraftKings deliberately adopted and prominently began using the NCAA’s iconic NCAA Basketball Marks, including confusingly similar variations thereof, to trade on — and usurp — the immense goodwill, recognition, and consumer trust embodied in those Marks at the precise moment of peak public attention,” the complaint states.
The NCAA stated that DraftKings’ use of its trademarks is "flatly contrary to one of the Association’s most deeply held institutional values: that sports betting must not be associated with, endorsed by, or linked to NCAA championships or the student-athletes who compete in them."
DraftKings’ Response
DraftKings rejected the accusation, defending its practice as fair use protected by the First Amendment.
“DraftKings does not use the term March Madness as a trademark, but rather uses it in plain text and as a fair use in the same manner that other tournaments are displayed, such as the NIT, in order to accurately identify the different tournaments and their respective games. This is protected speech under the First Amendment and is not a violation of any brand’s trademark. We are confident that the courts will deny this request for an injunction.”
As of Saturday morning, DraftKings’ app still displayed references to "March Madness," "Final Four" and "Elite Eight." BetMGM was also using the trademarked phrases at that point. FanDuel took a different approach, updating its betting menu to "NCAAB" by Saturday after displaying "March Madness" the day before.
The NCAA’s Anti-Gambling Stance
The lawsuit reflects an institutional position the NCAA has maintained consistently against sports betting. Unlike the four major North American professional leagues, the NCAA has not entered commercial partnerships with any sportsbook. It bans betting by athletes and staff and has been publicly pushing for restrictions on player-specific prop bets and micro-bets since 2024.
NCAA President Charlie Baker has repeatedly called for tighter limits on college sports wagering, citing concerns over competitive integrity and student-athlete welfare. The association runs a "Draw the Line" campaign on betting risks, which has been running throughout the 2026 tournaments.
The NCAA does work with one data company connected to the betting ecosystem. Last April, it signed an exclusive data deal with Genius Sports for official postseason data, running through 2032. That arrangement carries no commercial affiliation with sportsbooks. The tension between the NCAA’s anti-gambling stance and the wider US gambling expansion landscape has been building for several years.
What Happens Next
The timeline is compressed. The NCAA proposed filing its brief and supporting evidence by Monday, with DraftKings responding by Wednesday. Judge Pratt will then rule on the TRO request. The men’s Sweet 16 tips off Thursday, and the women’s Sweet 16 follows Friday — the commercial window the NCAA is most concerned about protecting.
The American Gaming Association projected that Americans would wager more than $3 billion on this year’s tournament. DraftKings showed no sign of voluntarily pulling the marks before any court order forces the issue. The case could establish important precedent for how sportsbooks reference major sports events in their marketing, regardless of the outcome at the TRO stage.
Source: AP News
