The NCAA today filed a complaint in federal court in Indianapolis against DraftKings seeking an emergency temporary restraining order stopping the company from using the NCAA's federally registered trademarks MARCH MADNESS®, FINAL FOUR®, ELITE EIGHT® and SWEET SIXTEEN® — or any confusingly similar variation thereof — in connection with DraftKings' sports wagering products, promotional campaigns and marketing activities.
The NCAA said the company's unauthorized 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.
The NCAA makes clear in the complaint and its motion that every day that DraftKings continues to use these marks, millions of sports fans — and, critically, college students and young adults who are particularly susceptible to gambling harm — are exposed to the false suggestion that the Association has authorized or endorsed DraftKings' gambling platform.
This causes confusion among NCAA members and student-athletes that the Association is involved with and/or endorsing sports betting, which is in direct contradiction to its robust education, integrity monitoring, anti-harassment and advocacy efforts to end risky prop bets.
The NCAA does not have any commercial relationships with any sportsbooks of any kind and continues to uphold a strict prohibition on advertising and sponsorships associated with betting. The NCAA says filing this complaint is a crucial step in furthering its mission to protect the integrity of competition and student-athlete well-being from the harms of sports betting.
