The NCAA sued DraftKings on Friday, asking a federal court in Indianapolis for a temporary restraining order to stop the online sportsbook from using trademarks such as March Madness and Final Four to promote sports wagering.<\/p>\n
The NCAA men\u2019s basketball tournament began this week and there were 16 first-round games on Thursday and Friday. The tournament is typically one of the most heavily bet events on the sports calendar.<\/p>\n
The first round of the NCAA women\u2019s tournament started Friday.<\/p>\n
Betting on sporting events is now legal in at least 39 states, and many professional leagues have partnerships with online sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The NCAA has no such deals, and the association has pushed hard to limit the types of bets sportsbooks offer on college events. Specifically, the NCAA has lobbied state and federal lawmakers to ban prop bets, which allow gamblers to wager on the performance of individual players, on college games.<\/p>\n
The NCAA\u2019s statement<\/a> said DraftKings\u2019 \u201cunauthorized use of its trademarks is flatly contrary to one of the association\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n By using terms such as March Madness, Final Four, Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight in its promotional and marketing campaigns, DraftKings is falsely suggesting the NCAA is endorsing the platform, the NCAA said.<\/p>\n DraftKings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The NCAA says online harassment of college athletes has dramatically increased since the legalization of sports gambling.<\/p>\n