The NCAA is asking the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana to have its case against DraftKings expedited so a trial could be held before next year’s March Madness tournaments.
DraftKings was sued by the NCAA for infringing on its college basketball trademarks shortly after this year’s March Madness tournaments began. The court did not grant a temporary restraining order, though, so DraftKings can continue to use the trademarks while the case plays out.
Without an accelerated timeline, DraftKings is “likely to continue to exploit that cycle, causing ongoing harm to the NCAA and depriving it of a meaningful opportunity to vindicate its rights before another high-visibility tournament season commences,” the motion filed Wednesday reads.
The accelerated timeline proposed by the NCAA schedules an estimated 10-day trial for February 2027.
NCAA tried to have schedule discussion
The NCAA said it attempted to speak with DraftKings twice to talk about a proposed accelerated case management plan before submitting the motion to the court.
“In advance of filing this motion, the NCAA made two attempts to confer with DraftKings’s counsel regarding the proposed accelerated case management plan, including sending DraftKings’s counsel an earlier draft of the attached case management plan for their review and input, but did not receive a substantive response,” reads the motion.
“DraftKings’s lack of engagement on scheduling in a time‑sensitive case heightens concern that absent expedited Court‑imposed deadlines, these proceedings may be subject to unnecessary delay, further supporting the relief requested herein.”
The court initially scheduled the pre-trial conference for June 1.
DraftKings opens Alberta preregistration
DraftKings confirmed it will launch its sports betting and online casino in Alberta in an announcement Thursday.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to expand DraftKings’ footprint in Canada and bring our online sportsbook and casino experiences to customers in Alberta,” Executive VP and General Manager of Sports Greg Karamitis said. “With the anticipated launch aligning with the World Cup — hosted right here in North America — it’s a particularly exciting moment for sports fans in the province to engage with our platform.”
Customers can now sign up for DraftKings accounts ahead of the July 13 Alberta launch.
