NCAA Files Federal Lawsuit Against DraftKings Seeking Triple Damages for Unauthorized Use of March Madness Trademarks

The NCAA seeks a restraining order and triple damages from DraftKings, alleging the sportsbook used March Madness trademarks without permission on its app.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 21, 2026, 12:29 PM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Gambling Insider

The Opening Salvo in a High-Stakes Intellectual Property Battle

As the annual collegiate basketball tournament commenced its opening rounds, the NCAA filed a comprehensive 37-page complaint against DraftKings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The governing body alleges that the Boston-based gambling giant has willfully misappropriated the "March Madness" brand and other registered trademarks to drive engagement on its sports betting platform. According to the filing, DraftKings only partially complied with initial requests to remove the infringing material, leading the NCAA to seek judicial intervention. The association argues that the presence of these marks on a gambling app creates a false impression of affiliation, which directly contradicts the NCAA’s long-standing public stance against the expansion of sports wagering.

Regulatory Friction and the Fight for a Restraining Order

The timing of the lawsuit is strategically aligned with the tournament's progression, as the NCAA has requested a temporary restraining order to be implemented before the Sweet 16 begins next Thursday. This legal maneuver aims to force an immediate cessation of all trademark usage across DraftKings’ digital interface during the most lucrative period of the college basketball season. According to the complaint, every day the marks remain active on the platform erodes public trust and inflicts "irreparable harm" on the goodwill the association has built over decades. The NCAA is not merely seeking a halt to the practice but is also demanding financial restitution, including triple the damages suffered or three times the profits DraftKings generated from the alleged infringement.

Strategic Rationale and the Preservation of Brand Identity

Central to the NCAA’s argument is the claim that DraftKings has utilized "confusingly similar variations" of protected intellectual property, such as the "March Mania" survivor contest. The association contends that using words with nearly identical definitions in the same context as collegiate sports is a transparent attempt to bypass trademark protections while still benefiting from the tournament's massive cultural footprint. While major professional leagues like the NFL and NBA have embraced partnerships with sportsbooks since the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling, the NCAA has remained a notable holdout. According t...